Chasing the Fallen Star
by StarryFire14
Summary: For reasons relating to her mother that she doesn't fully understand, Fairy Tail is attacked by a Dark Guild chasing after Lucy and the Zodiac Keys. Convinced it's the only way, Lucy leaves to take them on by herself, leaving her friends hurting and confused in the process. This story follows Lucy as she pushes through her pain to become stronger. Includes Desna's Pradesh Family.
1. Chapter 1

As to be expected of the Fairy Tail Guildhall, the place was roaring with noise. Beer mugs being thrown around, people yelling, excessive drinking, laughter, brawling, Nab standing by the request board… really it was everything one would usually see on a typical Tuesday night at the guild. What was surprising was that it was _not_ a typical Tuesday in the guild, as a good portion of the guild's members were away participating, judging, or observing this year's S-Class Promotion Trials, at an undisclosed location (because nobody wanted a repeat of Tenrou), and had been gone five days now. They were expected to be gone for at least another two, so it's not like the remaining members were celebrating. The members that were present must have been excessively loud to compensate for the lack of numbers.

The members all seemed to pause in their lively, chaotic behaviour for a few seconds when the doors to the hall burst open with a loud crack, announcing the arrival of guild members returning.

"Natsu! How many times have I told you to stop kicking in the doors?!"

A scowling and heavily bandaged Lucy Heartfilia stood in the doorway next to her long-time partner. Her long blonde hair was mussed, falling in a loose braid down the side of her neck and reaching her waist. She was staring a perfectly healthy-looking Natsu down, fire in her eyes, as he - completely oblivious to her frustrations - shouted "We're home!" and strutted his way through the doors, not bothering to dislodge the right one from where it stuck in the wall at the force he'd used.

Everyone shouted their greetings to the exuberant pinkette as he made his way forward, before returning to their previous activities without missing a beat. Lucy just threw her hands in the air in frustration, even if she'd rather Lucy Kick the crap out of her partner, recognizing that likely, he would never learn to control himself. She followed behind him, stopping briefly to pull the door from the damaged wall, before catching up and walking beside him, arms crossed over her chest and an annoyed but resigned expression on her face.

An overly warm arm draped over her shoulders as a heavy weight started pulling down on her left side. She felt her anger creeping up as her partner practically fell on top of her, whining in her ear, "Luuuuccyyyyyyy, feed me…."

She bore his weight for half a step before her patience finally broke. She elbowed him harshly in the side, stepped out from under his arm, and watched with a small, satisfied smirk as Natsu fell to the ground in a heap at the lack of support. She couldn't help feeling a bit victorious as he grumbled in pain from the ground.

"So… mean…."

The celestial mage turned on her heel in a huff and walked up to speak with Mira at the bar. Said wizard was watching the bickering pair with hearts in her eyes and a soft smile on her face, but she reluctantly turned her attention to Lucy completely when she heard the blonde call her name.

"Yes, Lucy? What can I get for you?"

Lucy took her normal seat at the bar. Why everyone claimed that stool was hers, she didn't really know. She had just shown up one day after a particularly intense guild party the night before, and saw everyone else backing away from the bar as she approached it. She thought it was weird, but it's Fairy Tail, so weird is kind of relative and she didn't think much more on it. Since then, though, no one ever sat there, even when she was away from the guild. When asked about it, Natsu had just mumbled something about smoothies, starlight, and Scary Lucy before running away. To this day, she'd never gotten the real story, but had just learned to accept it. And she wasn't complaining either, it was the best stool in the place, and if they wanted to designate it as all hers, who was she to argue? As she settled in, she dropped her head and arms onto the bartop dramatically, mumbling into the wooden surface, "Strawberry Milkshake. Please. And food. I'm starved…"

MiraJane giggled a little at her dramatics, but got started on the order right away, shouting over her shoulder, "Romeo, help Natsu up to the bar please? They've been out on mission for a month, I'm sure he's hungry."

Romeo, who'd been chatting with Nab at the request board, looked up at the mention of his name. His whole face lit up at request to help his idol, and smiling, he rushed over to the still grumbling dragon slayer. As much growing as Romeo had done, it appeared as though his hero-worship of Natsu was going to be permanent. What had shocked a lot of people though, is that the same adoration he'd expressed for the fire-breather had seemed to extend in the last two years to include Lucy, and when they were in the guild he seemed to hover around them both equally begging for stories of their missions. Lucy thought the praise unwarranted and often steered clear of talking about her, but she was nice to the kid. If she was being honest, he reminded her of what she'd always imagined a younger brother to be like.

"I'll get you, don't worry! Come on, Natsu!"

Lucy rolled her eyes hearing him so excited to help, but smiled a bit under cover of her face still being buried in her arms on the bartop.

The now fifteen-year old Romeo was much taller he was when they'd faced Tartaros, their last "end-of-the-world-as-we-know-it" type confrontation (no one was under the impression that it would remain their last battle like that, they just seemed to be in the center of every bit of crazy on Earthland), and had put on some muscle, but was still a kid and struggled a bit under the shockingly heavy pinkette he was acting as a crutch for. As they reached the bar, Natsu all but collapsed into the stool on Lucy's right side.

Lucy arched an eyebrow at the pair.

"What, Luce?" Natsu asked her, tilting his head curiously but still had his shoulders slumped in exhaustion.

"Gray is over there making fun of you," Lucy deadpanned.

"What?!" Natsu shouted, bouncing up and facing the rest of the guild, ready to start an all-out brawl, "Where's that ice-stripper hiding? I'll show him!"

Lucy tried and failed to stifle her giggles at the sudden energy change in her best friend, and the dumbstruck look on Romeo's face. Natsu turned and narrowed his eyes at his partner, after realizing that Gray was at the trials and not even in the guild.

"You did that on purpose," he pouted, settling back down in his seat and motioning for Mira to come take his order.

"Of course I did, you were being dramatic and poor Romeo fell for it," She said, her giggles finally calming. She pulled Romeo into a brief side-hug in greeting, ignoring her partner in favor of speaking to the young fire wizard.

"Hey Romeo, it's good to see you!" she smiled brightly at him as she turned to face him fully after releasing the hug, resting her elbows behind her on the bartop. She reached out and mussed his hair in a way she knows he hates, laughing lightly at his disgruntled expression.

"Hi Lucy," he grumbled, though he looked happy under the fake grumpiness at having her full attention, "How are you feeling? You look a little beat up."

To her side, Natsu snorted as Mira came up with Lucy's milkshake. Lucy glared at him for it, but calmed a bit when he passed her the shake, and she groaned happily after taking the first sip through the brightly colored straw. He turned his attention back to Mira, and to the prospect of food, while Lucy addressed Romeo's question.

"Oh, I'm fine. Actually most of these bandages can come off now, we've just been travelling really quickly to get here since Gramps expected us back in time to help watch the guild while everyone was away, and I haven't had time to mess with them."

Romeo looked relieved at that, Lucy had a tendency to get really injured pretty frequently, "What happened? Was it the mission?"

Natsu, again, snorted. He was doing a really poor job of containing his amusement, and Lucy wasn't really happy about that. She elbowed him again and he choked a bit.

"Ah, well, the mission was fine. Took a little longer than we expected because the lady we were escorting wanted to stop every few hours. We only had to fight off bandits twice, and neither of the groups were mages so we didn't have trouble. We got surprised by a group of Vulcans on our way back, though."

Natsu, for his part, was openly laughing now, "No, Luce. _You _got surprised by Vulcans. _I _could see them just fine, and tried to warn you, but you were too busy reading your novel after having chained me to a tree with magic-cancelling restraints in the middle of a well-known monster infested forest because I was 'bugging you', to notice that the creepy monkey things were gawking at you."

Lucy, as much as she was angry at him for saying it, was more embarrassed that it had happened, and just slapped him lightly and looked away, "Whatever. It was good talking to you, Romeo. I think your dad is calling for you."

Natsu was still gloating over the whole thing, he was excited that for once he wasn't the one who had screwed up and gotten someone injured. He would have been more worried, but Lucy had gotten a lot stronger and she could handle Vulcans on her own. She'd only gotten hurt because she was trying so hard to tune him out that she'd forgotten to pay attention and they got a few good hits in before she'd gotten her bearings and fought back.

Romeo sighed, Team StarFire was always getting into arguments like this, and as much as he loved both Lucy and Natsu, it was kind of exhausting. He found himself wishing that Team Natsu did more together these days, since Erza usually helped deter their fighting, but since after Tartaros they had only taken a few jobs together and it seemed like the team was mostly done. It made some sense, though, as all the members of that team now were incredibly powerful. They would be overkill on most any of the jobs they took, even S-Class.

"Hey, Luce was right, Macao is waving at you, Romeo," Natsu said, nodding his head to a spot behind Romeo before turning back around to complain at Mira that the food wasn't done yet.

Turning around, Romeo noticed what the two other wizards had. His dad, Max, Reedus, Wakaba, and Vijeeter were all looking his direction, Macao actually gesturing for him to come over. They weren't all that far away from the bar, with so few members in the hall, they all stuck close so Mira wouldn't have to walk all over the hall to serve them. Romeo approached his father with a questioning look on his face.

"Romeo, my boy! We need you settle a bet! Who do you think is going to win S-Class this year?"

"Gajeel, obviously," Vijeeter and Nab both chimed in. When they noticed they spoke at the same time, they high fived over the table (Vijeeter doing some weird version of dance after they did so).

"Idiots, clearly it's going to be sweet little Wendy," Wakaba threw in, blowing smoke in both of their faces.

"I'm betting on Freed or Bickslow, I'm pretty amazed that Cana and Natsu both past them the last two years. Now, though, there's no way they'll lose," Max added.

Macao rolled his eyes, "I've told you over and over again, it's gotta be Elfman. He's a man!"

Everyone at the table chuckled at Macao's reference to the beast takeover mage's signature catch phrase, before settling their gaze on Romeo to see who he'd side with.

Sighing, Romeo took a seat next to his father, and answered slowly, "Honestly, I'm shocked that Lucy isn't in. If she was, I'd be betting on her. Besides her, though, I've gotta say probably Freed."

Macao scowled, "You have terrible judgement, son. Freed definitely isn't strong enough to beat Elfman after all his training. And really? _Lucy? _Natsu can't partner with her, since he's S-Class now, so there's no way she'd come close to beating any of them."

He said it loudly enough that even through the raucous sounds of guild and her own exhaustion, the sound carried, and Lucy caught her name being said across the room. She might not have dragon slayer senses, but Lucy definitely heard the comment, as did the dragon slayer beside her who had gone still, his hand frozen holding fire chicken halfway to his mouth and his face paling…

The guild hall seemed to quiet for the first time since Lucy and Natsu had arrived, as the guild members all felt a chill in the air and the oppressive aura of magic surrounding them. They all turned their attention at a furious looking blonde as she turned slowly toward the table not thirty feet away from her where several people were scrambling from the table while Macao sat frozen, afraid to look up at what he knew was Scary Lucy.

"Got something to say to me, Fourth Master?" Lucy said with a quiet, menacing voice that was deceivingly calm as she addressed the fire mage that had insulted her.

He knew, he just _knew_, that looking at her was going to be a mistake. He did it anyway.

Macao lifted his gaze and saw Scary Lucy in all her glory. She was giving him the most terrifying glare he had ever received (which was saying something, considering he'd grown used to glares from both Erza and Mira), and she was clutching what looked like an empty smoothie glass in her hand (he could swear he small cracks in it where her hand was gripping it). The parts of her hair that had fallen from her braid seemed to float around her slightly as if she were standing in a breeze, and she had a faint golden aura of magic around her whole body. Most of her bandages had been taken off by now, and in her green half-jacket, black high-necked fitted shirt, green fitted cargo shorts and knee-high combat boots, she looked downright formidable. Macao seemed to be just now realizing that the woman before him was a far stretch from the sweet teenager that wore skimpy clothes to defy her father that joined years ago looking for a real family and adventure, the girl that had next to no experience and even less confidence. And now all he can process is that he has made a terrible mistake.

Natsu, as scared as he was, knew Lucy wouldn't seriously hurt him, and decided to tamp down his own sense of self-preservation and try and save the man he considered a mentor when he was younger. Swallowing hard, he leaned over to speak to his partner.

"L-Luce…" he started, cleared his throat, and started again, "Luce, I'm sure he didn't mean it," he very carefully stood and gently wrapped an arm around her waist, prepared to restrain her, "I'm sure he's sorry. Right, Macao?"

Macao, for his part, tried very hard to apologize. His mouth opened and closed, and yet, he was filled with such terror he really couldn't form the words.

"Macao, seriously," Natsu said to him, his voice anxious, "You've gotta apologize, before she explodes!"

The older man tried, he really did, but after another ten seconds of silence, Lucy was over it.

"Too late."

A glass, still with remnants of strawberry milkshake on the sides, and yes, a few minor cracks in it, went sailing through the guild hall and connected with Macao's forehead, sending the poor mage several feet back as the sound of glass shattering reached everyone's ears.

Natsu was immediately wishing he'd have thought to restrain his partner's _throwing arm_, mentally cursing himself for never thinking things through as thoroughly as Lucy did. He didn't dwell on it though, because Lucy was fighting against his hold trying to chase after the dazed fire mage as the rest of the guild hall started chuckling at his misfortune.

"Oi, calm down, Luce…" Natsu said, chuckling himself a little as he felt her anger fade and she stopped fighting him so much, "You got 'em good. Isn't that enough?"

Lucy stopped struggling altogether and took a deep breath. Sighing, she pinched the bridge of her nose and nodded slowly, "Yeah, I guess."

The blonde was internally chastising herself. She really needed to reign herself in a bit. The last few years have been hard, and she's been trying to keep the changes in herself from her family as much as she could. She tried to be all smiles in the guild, still had love for each and every one of them, and still felt strongly that everyone deserves second chances and forgives still, probably too easily. But in her heart she knows she's less trusting. Less open. Less… bright? And as the Light of Fairy Tail, bright is exactly what they need her to be. It's just that, since Aquarius, she's thought of little else besides how weak she was. How weak she'd been to have to sacrifice who had essentially become her second mother to save her friends instead of being able to do something on her own. And Macao's comment really just hit too close to home.

To think, everything she'd done to protect the guild, everything she'd sacrificed, everything she'd given, and her guildmates still thought so little of her. She'd not even been nominated for S-Class this year, when she'd fought so hard since Tartaros to get stronger. _Will I always be weak?_

Lucy snapped herself out of her own thoughts and turned back to her food, trying to finish it quickly and then leave so she could be alone.

"What did Macao do to you, Lushi?" the high pitched voice of one of her closest friends chirped in her ear.

Surprised, she looked over to Natsu (who had resumed stuffing his face) and saw Happy perched on his head with a fish in his hands, a curious look on his little furry face.

"Happy!" she shouted happily, snatching him off Natsu's head and cuddling him to her chest. As much as she sometimes couldn't stand the teasing exceed, she loved the little guy. He had a way of making her feel better that no one else really did, just because he distracted her from all the negative thoughts in her head (unless he was calling her fat).

"Oh, and don't worry about Macao. He won't do it again, I'm sure, so it's all good!" she shot a glance over to said mage's table to find him being helped back to a bench by a grinning Wacaba, who gave her a thumbs up as his best friend paled even more.

Happy caught the look and giggled, escaping her grip and sitting between her and Natsu, mowing down on the fish Lucy had thrown on the bar.

"So, wha' are you doin' 'ere, little buddy?" Natsu asked him, his mouth still full of food. Lucy smacked him on the back of his head, but he ignored it.

Rolling her eyes, Lucy looked back to Happy as well, curious for his answer. He was supposed to be with Charle and Wendy at the S-Class Trials, since she and Natsu hadn't gotten back in time from their 'super boring mission' before everyone left, and the little blue fur ball hated staying anywhere alone for any length of time.

"Oh, it was just boring. And the site really isn't too far away and you told me you'd be back tonight, so I came over by myself while everyone cleaned up and got ready to head out. I missed you, and besides, Team StarFire isn't complete without it's strongest wizard!"

Lucy and Natsu both sighed as Happy puffed his little chest out. Ever since they'd become an official team - Happy, Natsu, and Lucy - Happy had been on this kick about being the strongest on the team. Something about 'carrying them both' on missions (which was true, he just tried to play it off as though he was carrying the workload, not just _physically carrying _them when they had to fly). At this point it was just easier not to argue with him, especially since Natsu usually used it as an excuse to challenge Lucy or Happy or both to a fight in the middle of whatever they were doing, to 'see who is _really _the strongest'. Sometimes, Lucy didn't really understand how she'd ended up in a team with the two most immature and dense individuals in the guild, but secretly, she wouldn't change it for the world. She loved them dearly.

"Right, we'd be lost without you," Lucy deadpanned, "Do you know who won?"

Happy smiled at the praise, fake though it was, "Nah, I left before they finished. It was between Gajeel and Freed though and they'd been going at it for a while when I left".

Mira was off to the side behind the bar and had been listening intently. Upon hearing that Freed was in the finals, was squealing and clapping cheerily, smiling like a madwoman. The two of them had been dating for over a year, and Mira had been extremely upset when she'd been asked to stay behind and watch over the guild while the trials happened, as she'd wanted to go to support her green-haired rune mage. The only reason she'd stayed was because Freed and Elfman both had assured her they would rather surprise her with the S-Class status upon their return home than have her defy their master's wishes just to watch them compete with each other. Lisanna had even offered to stay back instead of her sister, after they realized that Natsu and Lucy being delayed would leave the guild less protected than they'd like, but Master had insisted they needed an S-Class, and Mira was the only one besides Natsu not scheduled to be an opponent this year.

Mira's excited noises were cut off abruptly when a loud explosion rocked the guild. It sounded like it came from in front of the hall, close enough that it was probably something in their front courtyard that had gotten destroyed.

In moments, the guild was alert. Natsu, Lucy, and Mira all looked at each other, determination in their eyes. As the strongest currently in the guild, they were responsible for whatever happened next. They'd planned for this, made sure they were protected in case someone attacked the guild during the trials, but none of them expected it to actually happen. Since Grimoire Heart attacked Tenrou, the S-Class Trials happened at a different time each year, and the time and location for the trials wasn't announced to anyone outside the guild, and even among the non-S-Class guild members or participants, the trials weren't announced until the day before they happened. That someone is here attacking, now of all times, had to be either a very big coincidence or something else. And Lucy didn't believe in coincidences.

If it was as she feared, and someone in the guild gave out the trial information, it was also _very _likely that the enemy has knowledge of their skills and abilities that would put them at a disadvantage. Add to that the fact that both she and Natsu were fresh from a mission and exhausted, and things weren't looking all that good for them. But, they were Fairy Tail, and so they'd figure it out.

Mira leapt over the bar, and all three of them stepped forward toward the doors at the front of the hall. The rest of the wizards took stances back behind them and behind the bar, ready to assist, but being very much aware that they would only get in the way if they tried to be too actively involved. They'd wait to see what they were facing before they jumped into the fray.

"Natsu, Lucy-"

"Yeah, Mira, before you ask, we're fine. We've fought on less energy than this before, no problem," Natsu said confidently, taking another slow step towards the door in a battle-ready stance.

Mira glanced at Lucy, who nodded, "He's right, Mira. We are fine to fight, don't worry."

Mira took a stance on Natsu's left, Lucy on his right, and all dropped into fighting stances. Mira into Sitri-Soul, Lucy's power flared as she summoned Loke's Star Dress, and Natsu lit his fists on fire and punched one fist into his other palm.

"I'm all fired up now!"


	2. Chapter 2

**I do not own Fairy Tail or the Pradesh Characters. FT is owned by Hiro Mashima. The Pradesh Clan belongs to Desna.**

Not dropping her ready stance, Lucy began speaking to the guild members behind her, figuring she could shout instructions and preparations up until the enemy decided to break down the doors. Seeing the damage outside at this point could wait, as they were likely outnumbered and they really had no information on the enemy. Besides, it was Fairy Tail's job to protect Magnolia, and it would be better for all its citizens if the battle remained inside the guild hall, instead of spilling onto city streets.

"Vijeeter, Nab, Wakaba, I need you to seal all the entry points. The back door, side entrance, any window big enough to fit people through easily."

Both mages took off, Nab to the back, Wakaba to the side entrance, and Vijeeter, who was light on his feet, started flitting through the hall checking windows.

"Lisanna, Macao, go to the infirmary, make sure it's secure and get supplies out and ready to treat basic injuries. One of you stay there once you're done, the other come back here hold back from the battle, and be ready to drag injured mages back there for treatment. Understand?"

"We've got it, Lucy," Macao said. They, too, took off to handle their duties.

"Ruby, Mikey, Mindy, I don't want you near this. Stay behind the bar," she gave this trio a warning look, which everyone understood. They were all under the age of 12, and were fairly new to the guild and their powers, but were rambunctious and spirited and they'd probably get hurt trying to help. The three of them looked at her, anger on their faces, and Lucy just knew they'd try and help. She couldn't really blame them, she'd probably do the same, but it was a liability they couldn't handle right now.

"Max, please stay by the bar and make sure they don't get hurt. Please."

Max, one of the guild's strongest next to the three that were ready to fight, wanted to be angry for not getting to participate. But looking into Lucy's eyes, he couldn't be upset. Protecting the children was the most important thing, and they needed someone strong to keep them in line, this was really the only option. Heaving a heavy sigh, he nodded at Lucy, then created a sand barrier over top of the bar all the way to the wall, creating a kind of 'roof' over the heads of the crouching children.

"The rest of you! Stay back unless you see a good opportunity! Natsu, if you need to go full power, we will deal with the damage later."

Natsu, who'd been just watching her take charge with ease, grinned mischievously at her statement. He _never _got permission to destroy like this, and oh was he going to enjoy this chance while he had it. The flames licking at his skin seemed to intensify, and the heat turned up just enough that Mira and Lucy took small steps away from him.

"You got it, Luce," Natsu said, unable to hold back his excitement as he rolled his shoulders.

Mira was pretty impressed with Lucy's ability to make decisions quickly and direct her fellow mages. It was a skill she knew Lucy had, considering her magic basically revolved around it, but seeing it first hand was different. The celestial mage spent so little time at the guild or training with the people here that she'd not had a chance to really see her mind work in the last two years, and even still, she could tell that the experiences she'd had over those years had created an even more strategic mind. She was suddenly very glad that they'd made it back in time for this. Mira was a powerhouse, no doubt, but strategy like and the ability to be calm under the pressure of battle and the knowledge that you're responsible for the lives of your teammates was a skill that few really had.

She didn't have much time to really ponder on it though, as just seconds after they all saw Macao enter back into the main room, the doors to the hall burst open in a cloud of debris. Both doors flew into the hall, Lucy having to sidestep one while Max used his sand to deflect the other away from the side of the bar. Everyone tensed, taking stances ready to defend themselves and their family, as three figures emerged slowly, almost casually, through the dust-filled entry where the doors used to be. With attention so focused on the incoming threat, no one noticed how Vijeeter went down from his perch on the second floor. Nor the figure that snuck out the window.

Natsu let out a low, unhappy growl under his breath. He really hated it when people destroyed things he held dear, and Fairy Tail's guild hall was one of those things (it was definitely different if _he _destroyed it, he was a Fairy, he was allowed).

"Who do you think you are, waltzing in here like you own the place? I should melt the skin from your bones and burn those into a pile of ashes!"

A deep, reverberating chuckle echoed around the hall, the sound making Lucy tense, and Mira take flight, the latter wanting to be ready for whatever they threw her way. She hovered to the left of her two nakama, waiting for someone to make a move. She and Natsu silently agreeing to wait for Lucy or the enemy to make a move, so they could support or counter.

Natsu was in his element. His best friend and partner had given him the all clear to do as he pleased, an enemy walked right into his line of sight, and he had two of the most bad-ass mages in his guild by his side, who were just as ready to fight as he was. The adrenaline rush was amazing, but he reigned himself in and fought with his instincts to just rush in and light shit on fire. Over the last year he'd started realizing that Lucy's plans often left him in less pain than his did.

"Oh I like your spirit, little dragon," the voice spoke. Natsu did _not _like being called a _little _dragon. He narrowed his eyes at the newcomer further.

Lucy studied the group as they came into focus, and was somewhat surprised to see only three people among them. She wanted to feel relieved, but her mind wouldn't let her. Fairy Tail was well known as the strongest guild in Fiore. The only guild she knew of that was more well known for their history against dark guilds was White Sea in Bosco. Either they were really dumb (which, considering the fact they were here _now, _when they were at their most vulnerable, she really doubted), or all three were powerful mages in their own right. She decided to stick to the side of caution, and allow them to enter a bit further and draw out any information from them that she could before the fighting started.

"Who are you?" Lucy said, her eyes hard and her face settled into a grimace. Her guildmates recognized the faintly golden aura around her from just moments ago when she'd confronted Macao. The pressure of her magic this time, though, was near violent, and all her guildmates kept an eye on the conversation she was having, waiting for any instructions she was going to throw out. The children grumbled under the bar, hearing what was happening, but annoyed that they couldn't see it. Max gave them a stern glare from his spot next to the bar. For a second time, the guild members in the hall missed someone moving on the second floor, entering through the window the other figure had left from.

The center figure, a large male roughly the size of Laxus, was the deep voice that had thus far been the only one speaking. His dark, greasy black hair was pulled into a low ponytail parted down the center, the split ends at the bottom just barely tickling the collar of his dark blue t-shirt on his back. You could see what had to be his guild mark on the center of his chest, a skull with a star centered right on the forehead, peeking out from the v-cut neckline of his shirt, which was was tucked into grey pants, that honestly looked as though he'd not washed them in a year, and were tucked into equally dirty grey combat boots. Lucy couldn't help but think she wouldn't be surprised if the pants had once been white, and that thought had her almost gagging. Oh how she did _not _want to fight that man. He probably smelled. She'd let Natsu take him.

"It doesn't really matter, Blondie. You gonna fight me or what?"

"Why are you here?" She wasn't getting anywhere on identity, but they'd not made a move yet, so she may still be able to get some information.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" he teased her. She was starting to reconsider letting Natsu have him.

"One last chance to leave before I let Natsu take you down, Greasy."

Greasy narrowed his eyes at her, and it gave her no small amount of satisfaction that he seemed to hate the nickname she'd used as much as she hated anyone but Laxus calling her Blondie.

"You're short on wizards and both you and the little flaming douchebag are low on energy at the moment. I'm not really all that afraid," Greasy deadpanned, and Lucy fought hard to suppress her surprise. She'd been working hard to project her magic in a way that made it clear she had power to spare (she didn't, but she'd learned how to make it look like she wasn't magically exhausted) and the fact that it wasn't fooling him was disconcerting. No one had ever figured it out before.

"What makes you think that?" she asked him, more quietly than she'd like. She was feeling uneasy about the whole thing. He had information that only people in the hall _right now_ should know. She trusted her nakama, but at the moment? At the moment it seemed as though someone standing behind her had betrayed her, and they could be poised to stab her, or heaven forbid, stab Natsu, in the back.

"Oh, we have our sources," came a light, lilting voice from Greasy's right side, and for the first time, Lucy took notice of the mages standing behind Tall, Dark, and Dirty. To his right, where the voice came from, was a tall blonde woman dressed in brown leather. She looked severe, a little older than Mira, and had harsh features settled into a grim expression, despite the laughing tone of her statement. She seemed pretty unremarkable, but she wasn't wearing shoes, a fact that Lucy found a little odd, seeing as she knew she was heading into battle.

"...where are your shoes?"

Lucy hadn't really realized she was asking it before it came out of her mouth, but before she had a chance to smack herself in the forehead for asking such a random question, the mage in question gasped and started searching frantically.

"Damn it! When did that happen?" she was mumbling to herself as she glanced around. After a moment of not finding the shoes she'd apparently not realized she wasn't wearing, she just turned and shrugged. All of Fairy Tail watched this happen, thinking only that it reminded them a bit of a certain ice mage.

"Oh for the love of magic, seriously?!" Came a high pitch, petulant voice from Greasy's left side, "I can't believe you lost your damn shoes again."

This mage looked young. Probably no older than Romeo, so young that Lucy felt a bit uncomfortable fighting her, but her voice was nasally and annoying and she looked at everything with a sort of condescending air that made her believe she'd probably be able to kick her ass without feeling _too _bad about it. She had long, dark green hair that was hanging in crazy, out of control curls to lay at her mid-back. She was wearing a short kimono-type outfit with bright green leggings and very, very tall, very, very impractical heels and holding onto a golden staff that had a snake head at the top.

"Can it, Piper," Shoeless snapped at her companion. Both turned away from each other and crossed their arms over their chests in annoyance. Greasy just rolled his eyes, seems this is pretty standard behavior with them.

"Wait, wait. Go back," Natsu piped in, "Did you say you have sources?"

"What of it?" Shoeless answered him.

It seemed to snap into place for Natsu, then. Never the quickest to draw conclusions, but Natsu wasn't stupid, "You're saying you've got a spy in this guild? Bullshit."

"It doesn't matter, fire bug. It really doesn't. Because we are here now, and you're about to be dead," Greasy spoke to Natsu, before launching himself towards the dragon slayer and throwing punches.

Lucy was royally pissed off, and anxious. She didn't like this situation, and for some reason she was really getting a bad feeling about it all. She didn't get any information from the intruders, besides one of their names (which is less than helpful, really), and they'd launched the first attack.

"Mira, take Shoeless!" Lucy shouted, as Natsu was pretty well occupied with his own opponent. Judging by the crinkle in his nose, she could tell she was right about the guy's clothes, too. Poor Natsu was dealing with a stinky, close-combat fighter while he had an enhanced sense of smell. It's really the worst kind fight to deal with, and Lucy could have traded, she _really _didn't want to smell the guy. And really, she knew Natsu hated hurting younger girls, even if they started it, so this was the best option to keep Natsu from holding back.

Squaring her shoulders to her opponent (who looked rather bored), she called out a spirit while she dealt with the few things she needed to make happen to keep the guild members safe, "Open, Gate of the Lion! Loke!"

Loke arrived in a flurry of sparkles, a hand casually pushing his glasses up on his nose, "Twice in one day, Lucy? I know you care for me but this is downright _needy_," he said with a smirk on his face.

"Not the time, Loke. We've got some shit happening right now. I'll be right back to help, but can you distract her? I've gotta get the kids out."

She said it low enough that no one else heard her, except maybe Natsu. She didn't know what these assholes wanted, but they were strong enough that they posed real danger to the kids in the guild, and the last thing she needed was them stopping her from getting the kids out of the line of fire safely.

Loke's expression turned serious, and he nodded. There were very few times Lucy asked her spirits to fight without her, and the fact she was doing it now made Loke quickly realize how bad the current situation was. "I've got this, Princess. Go deal with the kids. I'll be here when you get back."

He quickly made his way toward the green-haired girl, ready to fight to protect his keyholder and closest friend.

Lucy, hating herself for even allowing Loke to take on an opponent alone, took the opportunity he gave her and immediately dealt with the kids and guild members she needed to so she could get back to the fight as soon as possible.

"Open, Gate of the Maiden, Virgo!"

The maid arrived at Lucy's side as she walked quickly to the bar and signaled Max.

"Virgo, can you dig a tunnel from behind the bar to the East Forest?" At the maid's nod, Lucy exhaled a sigh of relief.

"Max, take the kids to Porlyusica's place. Virgo will get you about halfway there through a tunnel, but I need you to keep them safe while we deal with this. Can you do that?"

"Yeah, I can do that."

Virgo made quick work of the tunnel, then appeared back at Lucy's side for more instructions. Seeing how very drained her master was, and how anxious she felt through their contract, Virgo didn't even ask for punishment.

As the kids filed through, albeit with grumbles about missing the action, she spoke quickly with Max and Virgo, "Max, I'm sending Virgo with you. We have no idea who these people are or if they have more people waiting around for us, but it's not safe to assume right now that they don't know where Porlyusica lives. There are a lot of guild secrets that seem to be out in the open today, so let her help you defend the kids and Porlyusica when you get there. Do _not _come back here, even if Virgo disappears. My magic might fail in the fight, but do not leave them alone to come back here to help. We will send someone to you when we are good here, I'll give them a phrase. Test them, we don't know who to trust right now, but I'm trusting you. Ask them 'Who guards the benevolent gate?'. They have to respond, 'The Zodiac Twelve and the Hands of Fate.' Can you remember that?"

Max just nodded, then grasped Lucy's shoulder before following Virgo and the kids, "Stay safe, yeah?"

Lucy let a soft smile grace her features, "yeah, get going".

She watched them disappear down the tunnel, then channeled Virgo's Star Dress to close the hole in the floor so they couldn't be easily followed.

"Happy, Romeo, come here," she said, and the two approached her cautiously, not taking eyes of the fight. It seemed Natsu, Mira, and Loke were all fighting still, and seemed to be struggling, even with the occasional assist from the guild members standing at their backs. _This is not good._

"Happy, I'm going to pull a Natsu. I need you to use the distraction to carry Romeo out of here, and you both need to get to Master, now," She wrote out the pass phrase on a piece of paper, along with where Max and the kids were headed, folded it carefully, and sealed it magically, causing a golden magic seal to glow on the paper, "I need you to give this to Master, or Laxus ONLY. No one else can handle it except you, and anyone who tries to open it besides them will experience some less-than-pleasant side effects. Can you guys do this for me? Please?"

They both chirped, "Aye, sir!" and Happy grasped Romeo's clothing tightly, ready to fly out the front doors at max speed as soon as the distraction happened. Romeo took the glowing paper from Lucy's hands and clutched it tightly.

Suddenly, before she could turn around, Lucy felt the pull of magic as Loke was sent back to his realm.

"Damn it! Open the gate of the Ram, Gate of the Goat! Aries! Capricorn!"

Both spirits had been watching the battle from the viewing pool once both Virgo and Loke had been called, and so when they arrived they went to work immediately. Capricorn threw himself into the fight with Piper, striking out at her quickly while avoiding the long rope-like things she was throwing around the battlefield. _Wait… Are those snakes? _Aries had appeared right next to Lucy, and she threw out wool to capture at least a dozen snakes that had been flying into the air towards the celestial mage and the two people she was preparing to leave. She rolled them into their own little snake cocoon while apologizing profusely to Lucy for doing so.

"No, thank you Aries, you're a lifesaver. You did well. Can you keep the snakes away from these two while I make them an opening?"

"I'm sorry, yes princess, I can do that! I'm sorry!"

Lucy acknowledged her response with a quick hand on her shoulder as she stepped forward, between where Aries and Capricorn were fighting but off to the side a bit. She dropped her Star Dress, and dropped to a knee as she felt the pressure of holding open three gates open at once, after having a full day of missions.

"Shit," she said, breathing heavily while sweat dripped down her brow, "This better work or we're in trouble, I won't have the energy to go much more…"

She took a few minutes to breathe deeply, feeling the magic inside of her, praying to Stache Face that it was enough to do as she needed to.

She started her incantation, mostly sure that she could do the spell and still survive the magic drain:

"Oh stars far and wide that embody the heavens…"

Natsu, who'd been fighting with Greasy, heard the beginning of the chant and almost got hit in the face at his obvious distraction. He threw himself back into the fight to make sure he didn't get killed, but was searching for an opportunity to leave the damn battle and wring his partner's neck.

"What the hell, Lucy?" he shouted at her. He knew she didn't have enough magic for that spell. It nearly killed her every fucking time she used it, "Stop that, you moron!".

She ignored him, but his words had the negative effect of drawing Piper's attention away from Capricorn and Aries and to her directly.

Lucy felt her two spirits pulling more magic from her as they dealt with the snake mage's more frenzied attempts at getting past them to stop whatever spell she was weaving that had even her own partner frightened. Cursing under her breath, she closed Virgo's gate, hoping that Max didn't need her because she couldn't spare the magic anymore.

"By thy radiance reveal thy form to me…"

Mira noticed the change in Natsu, who'd been fighting at her side, and tried to figure out what had changed. She was facing off against the rather severe looking woman who was apparently an earth-make mage (which she internally laughed at, given the habit she had that reminded them all so much of their own ice-make mage), and had taken a few hits, but had the upper hand. Terra, as she'd come to find out her name was, was strong, but once removed from the earth her power became much harder for her to control, so Mira was doing her best to fly around and swoop her up as much as possible and allow her fellow guild mates to get shots in. Was it really a fair, one-on-one fight? No. But she came into their home and challenged them, so all's fair. Besides, Mira _is _a demon, after all.

"I implore you, oh Tetrabiblos…"

Mira threw her opponent harshly into the unforgiving ground and allowed Wacaba and Reedus to keep her down for a minute while she tried to figure out what had Natsu worked up and distracted. She landed down on the ground behind Greasy McDirtyPants and threw her elbow into the side of his head before he could react to her presence.

"Ruler of the Stars, let your unrestrained rage flow…"

Normally, Natsu would be pissed that someone interrupted his battle. Now? He was beyond grateful, because Greasy was down for the count, for at least a few seconds, and he needed to stop Lucy before she killed herself expending more magic than she had.

"With the eighty-eight heavenly bodies…"

Too late. He was too late. The only enemy still up was Lucy's, but now that she'd gotten this far in the spell, she couldn't be stopped. He was ten feet from her, ready to tackle her to the ground, but now that she had invoked the heavenly bodies, her magic permeated the air and created a seal around her. Nothing could be done. He'd failed her, and all he could do now was hope she had more magic than he knew she did. To hope she'd been holding out on him, because if not, she was gone.

He had other friends to save though, so with pain in his heart, he shifted his weight quickly and launched himself at Mira, the closest guild mate to him, while shouting at the others, "Get down NOW!"

He'd just landed on the ground when her heard her, and the room flooded with celestial power.

"SHINING! URANO METRIA!"

In the momentary quiet caused by the powerful surge of magic, a boy and a cat flew out of the guild unnoticed.


	3. Chapter 3

Mira was overwhelmed. The blast of golden magic had been suffocating, even though it wasn't directed at her, she found herself struggling to move and breathe. She glanced toward her teammate in awe. She'd seen this spell at the Grand Magic Games, but she'd never seen the devastating conclusion. A glance towards the guild mates behind her showed the same look of awestruck terror that she was sure she was sporting. She shoved Natsu off of her, and made her way to standing, searching her surroundings to see if the enemy was back up and ready to fight.

"Everyone okay?" she threw over her shoulder at her guildmates, who were mostly all on their knees by the back wall, redirecting their attention to the earth-make mage they'd been holding down.

"We are okay, but she's waking up," Nab responded to her, standing and pulling Reedus with him so they could get ready to resume their fighting.

"Keep her down," Sitri-Mira commanded, while she took in the rest of the room.

Greasy, as Lucy had been calling him, was staggering to his feet, looking worse for wear but still seemed to be ready to fight.

Lucy was still on a knee, both hands bracing herself on the ground to keep from tipping over, and she was breathing heavily, almost hyperventilating. She had one eye firmly closed as sweat dripped over it down her face, and the other was focused on the still form of green-haired teenager she'd just blasted into a crater in the middle of the guild hall. All her spirits had gone back to the celestial plane once she'd invoked the heavenly bodies, and she was realizing now that the action probably was the only reason she was still breathing. Her magic containers were utterly empty and the pain it was causing was making her vision blur.

Natsu was pushing himself up to his feet, looking toward Lucy with anxiety and fear on his features.

"Luce…" he called, his voice thick with emotion. He could hear her labored breathing, and just the fact that she still _was _breathing made relief flood through his veins. Quickly following that, though, was more than a little amount of anger and frustration. Gods, he was going to kill her himself, making him worry like that.

He stumbled his way over to her and put a hand on her shoulder gently, turning to face the remaining enemy. The snake chick, Piper, was alive but down for the count. He'd be surprised if she woke any time in the next two weeks, she was beat to hell. '_Guess that's what happens when you take the full force of eighty-eight fucking massively overcharged orbs of heavenly magic. Damn,' _Natsu thought to himself. He'd seen the spell many times over the last few years, but mostly only in training. She'd only done it in battle twice that he'd seen, and both times it had been against a number of mages, so she'd spread out the destruction. What he was seeing now? Focused mayhem. And that poor girl had some recovery ahead of her.

"She's alive, Luce," she looked relieved at that, "and I've got it from here. Just rest. We will talk about how dumb this was later," Natsu said to her sternly, but he couldn't completely hide the relief coloring his tone.

"Y-yeah…" Lucy panted back, clutching at her ribs to ease the cramp in her chest. She hated this, she absolutely couldn't stand that he was stepping in front of her, once again, fighting a battle she couldn't help him with. Honestly though, she knew it would be this way. She sacrificed her chances of helping with the battle to get Happy and Romeo out of the guild to get reinforcements. And while that sucked, she just knew she was too weak to end this fight without backup, and that was a chance she wasn't willing to take.

Mira, having had about enough of the destruction of her home, was making her way back to Shoeless. She lifted the blonde mage from the ground by the collar of her brown leather jacket, and stared into her dull green eyes. "Talk. What the hell do you want from us?"

The mage in question just glared at her, before spitting towards her face. All the guild members around her seemed to pale, wondering if the woman had a death wish, watching as Mira punched her in the chest so hard she fell out of her grip and into the wall at the front of the hall, just beside the crumbling doorway. Mira took slow steps toward her, as Natsu confronted the grungy looking black-haired mage.

"What's got you smiling like an idiot?" Natsu asked, stepping away from Lucy's exhausted form and marching back toward his opponent, who had been smirking and looked almost… relieved?... since Lucy's spell took down the snake girl.

Greasy chuckled but otherwise didn't respond.

Natsu, seeing Mira walking slowly toward the other mage, realized that they were close to victory, so he threw himself at the large man, "Fire Dragon's Talon!" he shouted, throwing a flame-enhanced kick to the man's midsection.

The guy crossed his arms over himself to block the attack, but otherwise didn't move to dodge it. He was thrown back several feet, standing at the entrance to the hall, next to the earth mage who looked a bit… uh… under the weather.

The man just smirked at the two approaching Fairy Tail mages, and grabbed his companion by the wrist, dragging her mostly-limp form toward the doorway while he cackled. Mira and Natsu stood side-by-side, ready to send the finishing blows, before the man redirected his attention to Lucy. The blonde, who was in a corner no one could see unless Natsu and Mira turned to look, was struggling in the grip of a tall man no one had noticed, looking terrified as she realized she had missed something vitally important. Greasy's grin widened.

"Heya, thanks for the help, Heartfilia. Couldn't have done it without ya," he said with a wink in her general direction before he sprinted out the front of the guild.

Mira tried to chase after them while Natsu was frozen in confusion. Why did that asshole know her name? Why did they attack everyone just to leave before the fight was over? Why did they leave their comrade behind? How did they know when the both of them returned from their mission? How did they know that the guild was holding S-Class trials. Why...:? Oh hell, he didn't even know all the questions he needed answers for, and it was throwing him for a loop.

He tried to turn around, to look at his best friend, the one who always had answers to questions he didn't understand, but before he could he heard a deep, cold voice echoing in the hall, one he didn't recognize. '_Shit. There's another one?!'_

"Scorch Magic Secret Art: Sacrificial Incineration!"

Natsu watched in horror as the teenage girl lying beaten behind turned to ash and crumpled, before a cloud of purple magic burst forth from where she had been and expanded rapidly throughout the hall.

He saw as Mira collapsed to the ground just outside the doors, before he too fell into the cold embrace of unconsciousness.

* * *

"Master, who is watching the guild while we are gone?"

Erza's question drew a raised eyebrow from Master Makarov as he turned to consider her question, "Why do you ask, my child?"

The requip mage bit her lip, bringing her hand to her face in thought while she stared at the campfire in front of her. Crossing her legs, she leaned forward a bit on the log she and master were using as a bench and took a deep breath, "I don't know. I just have a weird feeling that something is wrong, but I'm not sure what. It's making me anxious."

Jellal, who had been seated on the ground on the other side of Erza reading a book, shut it slowly and glanced up at Makarov. The two shared a look, before the master answered them, "As you know, we asked Mira to stay back until Natsu arrived, but Lucy and Natsu got delayed. I heard from them this morning, though, that they'd be back in the guild by this evening. So far as I know, all three of them are there, along with Lisanna, Max, Macao, and Romeo. The kids and all the others should be there too, we didn't have many out on missions."

Erza nodded, seemingly satisfied, "Ah, alright then. Between Team StarFire, MiraJane, and Max I am sure they are in capable hands," though in the back of her mind, she was still unsure. Something felt wrong.

Jellal spoke up this time, "Erza, is everything alright?"

Scrunching her eyebrows in thought, Erza sighed deeply, "I would like to head out. I think we should get to the guild soon, and we've rested here long enough."

Makarov gave her an appraising look. Erza's intuition was not something to be ignored, so after a few moments consideration, he decided she was right, "Alright, we will go. Jellal, can you get Laxus?"

"Already here, Gramps," came a deep voice from behind him, "What's going on?"

"We're heading out. Now."

A look of apprehension crossed the lightning slayer's features, he wanted to know what was going on that they had to pack up and leave in the middle of the night when they'd just set up camp three hours ago, but judging by the look on Gramps and Erza's faces, he didn't have time to worry about it.

"Hmn… Alright. Let's get packing," he stated, then gave instructions to Gray, Juvia, Wendy, and Bickslow - who were at a campfire just behind them - to walk around to all the tents and get everyone moving.

Before he could start packing up himself, the small group heard god-awful wailing coming from the sky. It almost sounded like-

"Happy?" Erza questioned, seeing a blue ball of fur carrying a lanky figure towards them in the distance over the grassland. Laxus, who had eyesight better than the others, recognized the lanky young man as Romeo, and he felt dread stirring in his stomach. Something was definitely wrong if Happy was dragging the poor kid all the way out here, when he knew they were on their way back to Magnolia early.

The exceed dropped Romeo unceremoniously on his feet while still a few feet in the air as he launched himself full speed into Erza's chest. He looked a little dazed by the iron wall he'd just headbutted, but it didn't stop him from bawling his eyes out, crying to her.

"Erza, you gotta help them," he hiccuped, "we gotta go back!"

The redhead patted his head roughly a few times in 'comfort', "Slow down, Happy. What's happened?"

His only reply was incomprehensible blubbering, but luckily Romeo stepped up to the group to explain. He was shaken, too, it was obvious, but he was handling it.

"We were attacked at the guild by three mages. One looked like an Earth-Make Mage, the other one I couldn't tell, and the last one was throwing snakes around? I don't know much else, but they need help, so we need to get back there and back them up," he spoke quickly, but clearly enough that the group in front of him could understand.

"Shit," Laxus muttered, "Gramps, I thought you said Natsu and Blondie should be back by now? We've gotta split up and send someone after them while the rest of us head to the gui-"

"Natsu and Lucy _are_ back," Romeo cut in. Everyone stared at him in shock, trying to process this information. Natsu and Lucy were a fucking _force to be reckoned with_. On their worst days. On their good days they were damn near unbeatable, something that still bugged Laxus to no end since he'd found out the hard way. Natsu alone? Laxus had him beat ten out of ten times. Throw Lucy in? Laxus and the Thunder Legion together couldn't take them down the one time they'd sparred. The fact that only _three _mages were giving them enough trouble to call for reinforcements was not a good sign.

"Stop looking at me like that and go help them! Hurry up!"

Romeo's words sprang the four mages into action. Jellal and Erza took off to rouse the rest a little more forcefully and get them moving. Laxus and Master Makarov approached Romeo to try and get more information before forming teams - one to stay and pack up, the other to rush ahead to help.

"I don't know anything else, but Lucy made me promise to give this to one of you," he said, handing over the still faintly glowing note. Master took it, and the magic seal faded away as he opened it and read through the hastily scrawled note.

A serious look crossed his face as he handed the note to his grandson, who read through it just as quickly before scowling and channeling lightning to his hands to disintegrate the note.

"I'll go to the old broad's place, Gramps. I can teleport."

Makarov nodded in agreement. They couldn't risk telling anyone else about the pass phrase Lucy had set up for them, because Lucy suspects a spy in the guild. And Lucy's hunches weren't usually wrong.

"I'll take the Thunder Legion with me."

Makarov looked for a moment as if he wanted to protest taking more guildmates to the children and their healer, but was silenced by Laxus's challenging glare.

"Not a fucking chance, Gramps. You and I both know, if there's someone screwing us over, it's not my team."

Makarov only nodded at this. It was true, since Fantasia, the three of them had been incredibly loyal to the guild, almost to the point where their trying to prove themselves was unhealthy. He was sure they all still felt guilt over the whole thing, which really, they shouldn't, but that guilt is what made him absolutely sure they'd never do something like that again.

"You're right, and truly, it doesn't matter as of now. If there is someone, we can't let them know we suspect something. I'll handle things here, you go ahead and head out. I'm sending Erza, Jellal, Gajeel, Wendy, Gray, and Juvia ahead to provide backup, and leaving everyone else here to clean up and follow. Stay safe."

Laxus nodded and jogged over to his team, talking to them briefly before disappearing in a clap of thunder.

"Romeo, my boy. Stay with the last group, and lead them home," Makarov said to the still anxious boy in front of him.

Turning around, Makarov found his way to Erza, who was barking orders at an exhausted looking Cana.

"Happy!" Makarov called to the blue cat, who then floated over, still teary eyed.

"Do you have enough energy to fly my back to Magnolia?"

Happy sniffled, then nodded his head once, "Yeah… I-I can d-do that."

Master gave him a winning smile, "Alright then. Erza, you're taking Grey, Juvia, Jellal ahead of the main group to support our guild mates. Gajeel, Wendy, you're to speak with Romeo to get as many details of the enemy as you can, then ask your exceeds to fly you home! Cana, put the flask down! You and Gildarts are to help everyone else pack up here, then leading the rest back to Magnolia. Does everyone understand their duties?"

"Aye, sir!"

With that, Makarov took off with Happy, only stopping for a moment to have a hushed discussion with Gildarts about his suspicions, asking the man to keep an eye out for anyone behaving out of character.


	4. Chapter 4

Makarov frowned deeply, arms crossed over his chest, as Happy flew him quickly to the guild hall with his shaking paws gripping the old man's cloak. Though they had been making good time, and Happy was moving quickly, the old master could tell that the exceed was tiring, slowing down the closer they made it to Magnolia and their nakama. '_Poor creature must be pushing himself to extremes. He's flown back and forth too many times today…'_

He was considering having Happy drop him off on the ground and making the rest of the way on foot when he felt a surge of magic coming from the direction they were heading. Panic gripped the normally level-headed wizard saint. The feeling of that magic was dark, twisted, and the fact that it was coming from the direction of his beloved guild had him anxious and terrified.

"Happy," the old man addressed the flying feline, "I know you're worried, and you must be exhausted, but we need to press on. The others need our help."

Happy had been crying discreetly (or so he thought, it's hard to be discreet when your tears are dripping on the person below you) the whole time, but at his masters words, he swallowed past the lump in his throat, "Aye, sir," he responded with quiet determination, pushing himself just that much faster trying to reach his best friends.

Makarov sighed, he hated pushing Happy so far. He could feel the magic power within him dwindling, but he felt he had no choice. His children were in trouble and there was no other way to reach them. He was second guessing his choice to allow Laxus to go after the guild children and Porlyusica, knowing he would have reached the guild much faster, but ultimately, he knew Lucy would be furious if he'd done that. She got the kids out of the guild for a reason, and it wasn't unlikely that someone had already been sent after them. Logically, there were more wizards in the guild that could defend themselves than who she'd sent with the kids, so they had to be priority. It didn't mean he had to like it, though.

Finally, after what felt like years (but was really more like ten minutes), Makarov saw Magnolia's structures on the horizon in the fading twilight, rapidly approaching as Happy pushed himself to his limits. He breathed a small sigh of relief seeing the building he called home still standing on the edge of town, just barely making out it's details under the light of the moon and the dim streetlamps.

They had just passed into town when he felt Happy's magic fail him, and the both of them tumbled toward the ground. Makarov reacted quickly, expanding his legs and landing easily on the empty streets of Magnolia, catching the passed out and exhausted Happy in his arms. Thanking the stars briefly for Magnolia's citizens being safe in their homes, he surged forward towards his guild. Looking down, he gave the small wizard a soft smile, pulling him into his chest as he returned all his limbs to normal size and took off at a sprint toward the hall.

"You've done very well, Happy. I will take it from here," He spoke to the exceed in his grip as Fairy Tail came into view.

He focused on the huge, castle-like structure, trying to find any signs of what had transpired in his absence. Where the doors once stood proudly, he saw only splintered hinges, pieces of wood and debris scattered on the ground by the entrance. Most of the windows in the front of the hall had been shattered, the glass falling to the outside of the hall and catching the soft glow of the lacrima lamps lining the streets. The flag that once waved proudly in the front of their courtyard had been cut to shreds, strips of it caught in the courtyard fencing and blowing softly in the wind. He couldn't see any other damage, though he was certain there would be far more on the inside.

Refocusing on the door, he took notice of a lump on the ground - that he had previously dismissed as being parts of the destroyed door - as it shifted and a small, feminine groan came from it and a faint purple mist escaped folds of fabric at the movement.

Eyes widening in horror, Master whispered, "Mira….?"

He took the next groan coming from the figure as confirmation, and he swallowed thickly. '_Oh no…'_

Wasting no time, he quickly set the exhausted exceed down by the courtyard entrance, and sprinted towards his downed mage, fighting the tears that wanted to escape him. Now was not the time for that, he had children to save.

He didn't feel any active foreign magic in the area, so he was sure the enemy had gone, but a feeling of stagnant dark energy still hovered around the guild hall. '_Poison magic, maybe…?' _he thought as he reached the injured mage.

He dropped down next to Mira and touched her shoulder, flipping her onto her side gently. Her face had a few bruises, her limbs a few more, and a shallow gash or two shone red on her pale skin, but nothing she hadn't handled with ease before. What had him concerned, his throat constricting with fear, was the purple veins shining brightly on her skin, seemingly spread throughout her whole body. That, along with her pained, shallow breathing, had him fighting down the magic surging angrily within him.

'_I wasn't wrong. This can only be poison, and a strong one, too. We need to act quickly' _He thought to himself. Looking up and into the doors of the darkened hall, his face paled considerably.

There, spread out throughout the hall, were the rest of his guild lying collapsed on the floor. Macao, Wakaba, Reedus to the left of the bar, laying practically on top of each other and gasping for air. Nab was by the stairs, draped over the railing to the second floor, Warren a few feet away completely motionless. Natsu had collapsed against a pillar a few feet back from the entrance. Several other guild mates were sprawled out, moaning in pain, most of them near the back corner where the hall seemed to have taken immense amounts of damage. After scanning the images before him, he saw his eye drawn to the second floor, where blood seemed to be dripping from the balcony, and saw Vijeeter, broken and cut, bleeding enough to create a puddle beneath him. All the mages he could see showing the same signs of poison as his demon barmaid, and the same purple mist he saw around Mira's clothing was permeating the air in the hall.

Doing his best not to be affected by the horrific sight, he took action.

'_Wendy, I hope you get here soon…'_

He scooped Mira up as gently as he could while still moving quickly, taking her to the far corner of the fenced in courtyard, and laying her down. Happy, who had woken up only moments before, gasped at the sight of her broken form.

"No, Happy!" Makarov commanded, stopping the blue feline before he could reach out and touch the mage, "They are poisoned, and I'm not sure how it spreads. You can't touch her".

Happy whimpered at this, tears in eyes again for what seemed like the hundredth time since he last saw Natsu and Lucy, but he backed away at Makarov's words.

"M-Master, w-w-what can I d-do?"

Not stopping in his efforts, Makarov answered Happy while running back to the guild entrance, "Wait at the entrance, keep the others from coming in. We can't risk anyone else getting infected."

The exceed nodded his head, foregoing his typical 'aye, sir!' response - he really couldn't summon strength to say even that much with how exhausted and worried he was.

Makarov entered the guild, again and again, pulling out mage after mage to get them away from the hovering poison magic in the air. He lay them side-by-side in the corner of the courtyard by Mira, Happy sobbing that much harder each time he saw another member of Fairy Tail exit the hall. When Natsu was pulled out, he nearly lost it and touched him - would have, if not for the arrival of Gajeel, Panther Lily, Wendy, and Carla.

When the dragon slayers and exceeds arrived at the hall, they were met with the site of half of their nakama moaning on the ground outside the hall, some with tears streaming down their faces, some screaming, and all with bright purple veins clearly visible under their paling skin. Both smelled the heavy scent of toxin in the air. Gajeel gagged, but managed to grab Happy before he flew straight into Natsu, who was in one of Master Makarov's enlarged hands, Warren in the other, as they were moved into courtyard from the guild hall. Wendy, a seasoned healer, fared a little better, but she looked both ready to kill and terrified for her family at the same time.

"What the hell happened here, Gramps?!"

Makarov didn't even acknowledge him, too busy with the task at hand.

Wendy snapped at him before he could ask again, "This is not the time, Gajeel! Call Laxus, I think he went to Porly's. I need her," her eyes turned from hard and determined to pleading, "please," she all but sobbed, "Get her here now. There's just… so much… I can't fix all this…"

Looking into the eyes of the teenaged dragon slayer, he sighed before placing a hand on her shoulder, "You got this, shorty," he encouraged, "Do what you can here. I'll call Laxus."

Wendy was pretty sure that was the first time in the iron slayer's life that he'd called the man by his real name. Under other circumstances, she may have teased him. As it was, it only saddened her greater that their situation was serious enough that even Gajeel was focused.

As the iron dragon slayer, Lily sitting with paws crossed on his shoulder, to activate his Com Lacrima, Wendy stepped into the center of what she had mentally deemed the '_triage area': _the middle of all the guild members that Makarov had managed to extricate from the hall. Charle followed close behind, hovering over her shoulder. She was careful not to touch any of them as she drew on as much of her magic as she safely could, reaching both arms towards the sky as she recited the spell.

"Body Anomaly Reversal Magic: Raise!"

Wendy felt a drain on her magic for using and maintaining this enchantment on so many people. A few of the mages around her stopped moaning quite as much as they felt a small bit of relief from the magical poison in their veins, but the sky dragon slayer knew it wasn't enough. The enchantment, while extremely helpful, only stopped the magic from spreading the poison rapidly, it couldn't get rid of the poison altogether.

Sweat forming on her brow, Wendy gathered power to herself once again, "Dragon Slayer's Secret Art: Purifying Winds!"

Throughout the courtyard, Wendy's bright blue magic circle swirled under their feet and remained there, glowing softly while the spell was active. The wind picked up into a light, comforting wind around the injured mages, and the screaming and moaning stopped as the poison was slowly being purged from their bodies.

Breathing somewhat labored, Wendy sank to her knees, feeding power bit by bit into her two active spells. Charle frowned somewhat, but for the first time, didn't chastise her for using so much of her power so recklessly. Even she could see they didn't have many options. The healing fields she maintained were having an effect on the mages around her, but she knew they wouldn't be enough to eradicate the poison from so many wizards at once. Mass healing or purifying spells were always significantly weaker than focused spells placed on a single mage, but with so many wizards close to death, they'd lose people if she did anything else. '_Please Porly…' _she mentally pleaded, feeling an exhausted desperation take hold of her, '_I need you to get here…'_

Makarov finally pulled the last mage out of the hall, and Wendy paled upon seeing him. Vijeeter was poisoned much like the others, definitely. Unlike the others, he was heavily injured. If it weren't for the fact she could hear his faint, weak heartbeat with her enhanced senses, she would have been sure he was dead. He had several gashes along his midsection that were bleeding heavily. He had a massive bruise near his temple that was swollen and purple. His clothing was stained red and soaked in his own blood, and his right arm was hanging at an awkward angle.

Wendy rushed forward, pulling air into her lungs as much as she could to replenish her magic. Vijeeter was not going to make it if she didn't do something quickly, and she couldn't release her other spells without risking the lives of the rest of her nakama.

Makarov settled the injured mage at the edge of the group, watching as Wendy set to work. He could tell she was near exhaustion, but he didn't have the heart to tell her to stop healing and conserve her energy. Locking gazes with Charle over her shoulder, he knew she felt the same. It would kill her if Vijeeter didn't make her because she didn't have enough magic to heal his physical wounds, and he could see Gajeel getting off the com with Laxus at the entrance to the courtyard. He was counting on her lasting long enough for Laxus to bring Porlyusica to help.

Gajeel approached them both, still looking rather sick, and more than a little pissed off, "Old man, where the hell is the enemy? I'm gonna go teach 'em a fucking lesson, make sure they not not to fuck with Fairies…" He cracked his knuckles, looking around at his surroundings skeptically.

Makarov only sighed, shooting a tired glare at the iron slayer, "We need you here."

Scowling, Gajeel started to protest, but when his gaze shot to Wendy he deflated, resolve wavering. She was exhausted, Master's veins had taken on the same bright purple hue that the others' had, and there was no way he could leave them here alone when they didn't know where the enemy was. Hell, they could be hiding out nearby waiting to make another move. Eyes flicking toward Natsu and Mira, any desire to go after the assholes who hurt his nakama went out the window. He and Lily were strong, sure, and he was S-Class now, but these guys took out Mira, Natsu, and Lucy, while dealing with the rest of the guild, with only three members. He fucking _hated _admitting it, but he wasn't strong enough to go after them alone.

"Goddamn it!" He shouted in frustration, running his hands through his hair and turning away from the other two. Helplessness was a really terrible feeling.

"Happy!"

The little blue exceed looked up from where he sat, a few feet away from his pink-haired best friend, sobbing uncontrollably. He tilted his head at Gajeel, who'd called him.

"Stop actin' like a baby and help out, ya? We need to set up watch!" Gajeel called gruffly.

All three of the exceeds gathered around him, Lily still brooding on his shoulder, recognizing that he was right. Wendy was the only one who could help heal the others, and she was doing everything she could. They were the only ones here right now, so they had to help.

After a few sentences to each other, they'd decided who was doing what. Happy retook his stance at the courtyard entrance, Lily sat on the top of the East fence, Charle on the West, and Gajeel walked around between all three, listening intently in case they called out for help.

A few minutes passed like that, and he found his mind wandering. He just achieved S-Class after training for _so long _to get there, and still, he was didn't have the strength to go after the people who had so badly hurt his nakama, especially Lucy and Natsu, his kin.

It was bad enough his bond with Lucy was strained. All the slayers were Kin, the magic just drew them together and their bonds were stronger since they were coming from both mages involved, but he'd taken both Lucy and Levy as kin after Tartaros. They were the closest thing he had to family, and coming so close to losing them and everyone else had pushed his dragon into forming the bond as soon as he was able, as had Laxus and Wendy. Problem was, Lucy was different after the war with the demons. He knew she thought no one noticed, but there wasn't much you could hide from dragon kin, and they all felt a darkness in her she'd not had before. Even physically, she was more distant - taking jobs that took her far away from the guild for months at a time, staying in Magnolia only for a few days at a time unless she was seriously injured (something that happened more often than any of them would like). She took on jobs that were far too dangerous, was far more reckless while doing so, doing everything she could to keep from relying on her teammates. She'd slowly pulled away from Team Natsu to the point where the team was all but done, and Gajeel was certain the only reason she was still alive was that Salamander adamantly refused to let her go on missions alone, something that annoyed Lucy to no end, but the other slayers were really grateful for. The physical and emotional distance she'd put between herself and the other slayers was taxing on their bonds, and it left most of them rather agitated most of the time. The fact that she was hurt again…

His thoughts cut off abruptly, Gajeel stiffened.

'_No…'_

He looked around the courtyard.

'_Fuck… This can't be happening…'_

He rushed around, looking frantically from face to face, searching.

A crack of thunder and the bright flash of lightning drew everyone's attention to the front of the hall, Happy jumping back in fright.

Porlyusica ran towards Wendy carrying a large container of glowing blue liquid, falling to her knees beside Vijeeter and brining the potion to his lips.

Laxus followed behind just as frantically, took one look around at the injured wizards of his guild, and his eyes narrowed as lightning licked at his skin.

"Where the fuck is Lucy!?"


	5. Chapter 5

Gajeel grit his teeth and clenched his fist, angry at himself for not noticing sooner, "Fuck… Bunny isn't here…"

"Well no shit, pincushion! Where the hell is she?"

Wendy, who was still working diligently on slow-healing Vijeeter, looked at her dragon brothers with horror on her face as she, too, realized her kin was gone. Porlyusica scowled at her, "Wendy, focus! You have your own job to do, they can deal with the rest, I need you to keep this stupid human alive!"

The blue haired teen shook her head roughly, blinking back the tears, and refocused her magic on the mage in front of her while Porlyusica took several small wooden bowls out of the pack she'd been carrying on her back. Makarov stood, backing away from the group as he realized he wasn't needed.

The grouchy pink-haired healer snatched his wrist, holding him back from walking away, and shot him a glare, "You old fool, you got yourself infected. You're not young enough to shake these things off, you careless oaf!"

He shrugged off her scolding words without so much as a sheepish look. She scowled at him further, before holding out one of the bowls for him to take, having filled it with the potion she was carrying with her.

"This will help. Don't go too far, though. This isn't poison, as I'd been lead to believe, rather it's snake venom. Pretty potent, too, and magically enhanced to be effective as an airborne substance. I'll need to make a few adjustments to the formula before it's effective enough to eradicate the venom entirely, so you'll need a dose of the new stuff as well when I've completed it."

He gave her a small smile, "Thank you for coming".

She just scoffed at him before returning to her potion, pulling out a large glass bowl that didn't look like it could really fit in the backpack she pulled it out of, and dumping the remaining potion into it so she could make the necessary adjustments.

Makarov downed the contents of his small bowl and turned to face his irate grandson, who was locked in a heated discussion with Gajeel, arguing loudly with him about leaving to "fetch Blondie".

Taking a deep breath,"Laxus-"

"What the hell happened!?"

"Master, what is the meaning of this!?"

"..."

"Juvia doesn't understand…"

Gray, Erza, Jellal, and Juvia all stumbled through the courtyard entrance, Juvia clutching Happy like he was one of her homemade plushies depicting 'her darling Gray'.

As one their gazes swept through the chaos before them, from the still-glowing purification circle to the injured family that lay inside it, to Master and the others who were tense and ready to bolt. They took only a few moments to take it all in, before Erza and Gray both went ballistic.

"Where's Lucy?!"

Erza requipped twin swords without a second's hesitation, scanning the area around them looking for an enemy, while Gray's arms coated in ice and the darkness that signified the presence of his devil-slayer magic stretched over his side and up through his right eye. Erza only calmed when her quiet but firm boyfriend placed a hand on her shoulder. Juvia splashed Gray with her water magic to get his attention long enough for one of the wizards standing in front of them could explain the situation.

A tense moment passed, before Makarov cleared his throat and spoke, "Our guildmates have been infected with magic-enhanced snake venom, that was somehow made airborne. Before you try to help, you can't touch them. The venom lingers, and it seems any skin contact with it causes infection," he lifted an arm and pointed at the slowly fading purple veins showing through his skin still, "Porlyusica is working on an antidote right now, Wendy is doing all she can to keep everyone stable until it is ready."

"But where's Lushi…?" This time it was Happy who spoke, as it seemed he'd also not caught on until just now that his favorite blonde to tease was not among the injured.

"Nobody fucking knows," a grumbling lightning dragon slayer muttered, crossing his arms over his chest and scowling at everyone, "But I'm sure as hell going to find her. Right now."

"I'll come with you," Erza spoke up.

"Like hell I'll let you go without me!" Gray chimed in.

"I would like to offer my assistance in locating her, as well," came the smooth voice of Jellal.

"Juvia will help save Love-Rival!" Juvia added, wanting very much to help her good friend.

"She's my kin, I'm not getting left behind while you idiots go searching for her," Gajeel spoke up for the first time since the others arrived.

The conversation turned at that point, each of them arguing with each other over who was going to track down their missing wizard. Both dragon slayers argued back and forth over who was the better kin, Gray yelled at both, saying he was basically Lucy's brother, so he was more kin than they were. Erza shouted at no one, talking about how she would defend Lucy's honor. Juvia kept hugging Gray almost violently, crying about how he loved 'Love-Rival' more than he loved her, while simultaneously shouting about how worried she was for Lucy's safety. Happy flew from person to person, crying into their chests and begging them to bring his friend home (surprising everyone, Laxus was the one to pat his little blue head and tell him to calm down before jumping back into the argument). Jellal, for his part, tried to calm everyone and come up with a real plan. He really did, but sadly, his voice of reason went unheard or ignored.

"ENOUGH!"

Makarov grew just tall and big enough to double the size of Laxus, shouting at the quarreling mages below him and shooting them with a disapproving glare. They settled rather quickly after that.

"None of you are going."

Shouts were heard from the group before Makarov slapped a hand at their feet, effectively silencing them once more.

"We all love Lucy, and we _will _get her back, but we have other concerns at the moment. Look around you!"

The wizards all ducked their heads in shame, except Laxus (who knows no shame) and Jellal (who had been the only one of them to realize there were other problems to deal with).

"I apologize, Master, you may hit me for my thoughtlessness."

Makarov looked for a moment as if he were considering it, before shaking his head and continuing with his instructions. They were wasting too much time and things needed to get done.

"Erza, Gray, I'm sorry, but you're too emotional to go after Lucy. You're needed here. Porlyusica should be finishing up here soon, and once that potion is ready, she will need help administering it and bandaging any physical wounds. I need you both to standby and be ready to help so we Wendy can drop her enchantment as soon as possible," Master said, glancing briefly at the small slayer who was finishing up with Vijeeters wounds and looking pale. The others followed his gaze, realizing for the first time that Wendy was really struggling.

Erza and Gray moved toward Porlyusica, muttering their acceptance of their duties as they made their way to the cranky healer.

Juvia followed along quietly a moment later, to the surprise of… well… no one.

Makarov continued, "Gajeel, you were right to set up a perimeter and assign the exceeds to keep watch. Jellal here can help you, but this is the job I need you to continue doing. We have no idea where the enemy ran off to, or what they wanted, so we need to stay alert."

Gajeel's expression turned a bit sour, but he let it go, only pouting a little as he stomped back toward the middle of the outdoor space, Jellal trailing quickly behind.

"Laxus."

"There better be a good fucking reason you're keeping both Gajeel and I from going after our kin, old man," the big blonde said, glaring at his grandfather as Happy escaped his grip and floated back toward his post at the entrance.

"You need to put your feelings aside for a moment, m' boy. Wendy is minutes away from magical exhaustion and we only have five mages healthy enough to protect the others. We need to retrieve Chelia from Lamia Scale, and gather all the others back here to regroup in case we are hit again."

"You can send someone else to do that, I need to go after Blondie! There's no telling what they've done with her, Gramps! She needs help!"

"So do we, Laxus, and no one else can get these tasks done quickly. You have to do it."

Laxus considered this for a moment.

"Tch. Fine," and he flashed away in a clap of thunder and flash of lightning.

Heaving a sigh of relief, Master Makarov released his magic and shrank back to his normal size. He looked around, seeing his wizards all dealing with the tasks they were given, and walked out the front of the courtyard. He hooked a left, and started making his way to the East Forest, where he could feel, very faintly, traces of dark magic still lingering in the air.

"Where are you going, Master?" Happy asked him innocently, following behind him a little ways, curious as to why he'd be leaving after telling everyone that they were needed at the guild.

"I'm going after Lucy. If anyone asks, you can tell them, but make it very clear that I am not to be followed. Can you do that for me, Happy?"

"A-aye, s-sir," Happy called, stopping his forward motion and watching his guild master walk alone towards the darkness of the forest. He knows that the Master is too far away to hear him, but he can't help but call out to him as his figure disappears from sight, "Thank you, Master. Please bring Lushi home…"

* * *

Laxus was pissed. Yes, he understood that the guild had fallen under attack. Yes, he understood that the wizards were seriously injured and getting help was important. Yes, he understood that they needed to get the guild members together and safe, and quickly, before the strangely powerful, mostly unknown enemy decided to throw more shit there way. But damnit, Blondie was his _kin. _The little sister he'd never had before. The most frustrating, stubborn, and challenging person in his life. The warmest, most loving, strongest mage he's ever known. And she was _his_ to protect.

Yet, here he was, teleporting himself all over hell and creation, dealing with all the other problems instead of searching out his kin, who had been most likely kidnapped (again) and could be in danger. Every second he spent out here dealing with this crap was another second she could be fighting for her life. He'd never forgive himself if something happened to her while he wasn't even looking for her.

Throwing all his thoughts out the window, Laxus decided just to get the shit done as quickly as he could so he could go and look for Lucy.

The first place he teleported to was about halfway to the clearing where Cana, Gildarts, and Romeo were left packing up with the rest of the guild. Of course, he didn't even smell any of his comrades close, even after hopping around via lightning to a few different places, so he finally gave up and pulled out his Com.

The first one he called (who, in retrospect, he probably should have contacted before he teleported from the damn guild) was Freed.

He answered immediately, eyes sharp. Laxus saw Evergreen and Max in the background, looking as though they were patrolling around Porlyusica's hut.

"Laxus, what can I do for you?" the rune mage asked his leader, his tone polite but to the point.

"Freed, get everyone to the guild. The enemy is gone, for now, and Gramps wants everyone regrouping there ASAP. You're in charge out there, get the kids to the guild, and stay sharp. We haven't located the idiots who attacked us."

Freed's right eye pulsed with purple magic as he squared his shoulders. He nodded at the Com feed, "We will arrive there shortly, Laxus. You have my word".

Laxus only grunted in response, cutting the magic to the lacrima to end the call. Without dropping the Com from his eye level, he pushed magic into it once again, calling for Cana. He'd have called Gildarts, but that man was notorious for breaking everything he touched, so he figured Cana was a safer bet.

He figured right. It took over a minute, but she eventually answered her Com as well, looking worried and a bit frazzled.

"Cana, where the hell are you?"

The card mage took a second to look around her, "we're still in the grasslands West of Magnolia. Not sure where, exactly."

Pinching the bridge of his nose, Laxus sighed before speaking again, "Just… I don't know, send up a flare or something. I should be close enough to see you it."

Nodding, Cana turned her attention away from him and looked at Romeo, who must have been standing close by to her right. A few mumbled words later, and Laxus watched as a mile or so away, a narrow column of purple fire lit the sky.

"Got it," the lightning slayer said, teleporting over before even ending the call. He appeared right in front of Cana, causing her to jump back a couple feet in surprise.

"Asshole, watch where you're throwing yourself! Geez!"

Laxus simply rolled his eyes, closing of the communication feed and stowing his Com into his pocket. "Where's Mest? Jet?"

Cana looked like she wanted to question him, but after a moment, thought better of it, "Last I saw, they were both towards the back. Think they were talking with Droy, Levy, and Kinana, 'm pretty sure."

The words were barely out of her mouth before the big blonde was shoving his way through the crowd to reach them.

Five minutes and several knocked over guildmates later, Laxus found his targets at the very back of the group, chatting animatedly about what could be happening, waiting for the rest of the group to start moving forward again.

"Mest, I need a favor. Now."

"Uhh… Yeah, alright. What do you need?" Mest asked him, a confused look on his face.

"How many mages can you Direct Line to the guild from here?"

Mest seemed to consider this a moment, a hand on his chin and his eyes cast skyward. "I, uh… Hmm… I think I could probably get about half the group there, but it would suck. That many mages takes a toll on my reserves."

Laxus cursed to himself, '_well, there goes that brilliant plan'._

"Fuck, alright. How many could you move and still have enough magic to make a few more long jumps?"

"Comfortably? Five, probably. Why?"

Laxus nodded to himself. He could work with that. He'd be able to get reinforcements to Fairy Tail quickly so he can take off after Blondie.

"Alright, here's what we're gonna do. Jet," the man in question looked up at the mention of his name, "Run to Lamia Scale. Fast as you can, and get Chelia ready to leave. We are going to need her as fast as possible."

"I'm on it!" he shouted, racing off toward Lamia Scale's hometown to do as he was told.

"Mest. Take Levy, Cana, Gildarts, Romeo, and Laki and head to the guild. Then head over to Lamia Scale and grab Jet and Chelia. If you have enough magic after returning to Fairy Tail, make a few trips back and forth to bring the rest of the group to the guild hall, we need to regroup as fast as possible."

Mest thought this through, thinking on how much magic that would take out of him, "Yeah… alright. That'll still suck, but it's doable," he conceded.

"Good. Tell Elfman he's in charge of the stragglers."

With that, he grabbed Droy by the shoulders and dragged him over to Alzack, Bisca, and Asuka.

"Everybody grab on, we're going home," he said, looking at the four mages around him.

Asuka, ever the energetic kid, squealed and jumped up on Laxus, throwing her hands over his neck in an enthusiastic hug. Droy froze, waiting for the little girl to get electrocuted, while Alzack and Bisca just shrugged and grabbed a hold of his shoulders. Droy still looked terrifed.

"Uh… Are we going to get electrocuted…?" he asked nervously.

Laxus just stared at him over Asuka's shoulder. After another moment passed, Bisca scoffed and grabbed the plant mage by the scruff of his shirt.

"Oi, stop bein' a baby. I got 'em, Laxus. We're ready."

"I'm not read-" Droy's horrified shout was cut off by a clap of thunder.

The plant mage was sweating and whimpering by the time they landed in front of the guild hall ten seconds later, and only stopped once Bisca slapped him on the back of the head and told him they were already there. Laxus rolled his eyes as the man looked around slowly as if he didn't believe he'd made it back.

Ignoring them in favor of getting an update, he walked over Jellal who was standing over the members of Team Natsu looking thoroughly disappointed.

"How did this happen, again?" He asked his girlfriend, pinching the bridge of his nose and looking skyward. Probably pleading to the heavens he wielded for some kind of logical response out of the most illogical people in the guild. Despite himself, Laxus chuckled quietly. Those three were a constant source of entertainment (or irritation, depending on the day).

"I can explain," Erza began, as Laxus finally closed the last few steps between himself and the conversing group. He looked down and noticed that Natsu, Gray, _and _Erza had the same luminescent purple veins visible on their skin. He could have _swore _the only one infected when he'd left was Natsu…

"Natsu woke up," Gray said, looking at Laxus, "He was shouting for Lucy, trying to get up and everything, and he's really injured, so he really shouldn't have been moving, so…"

"Wait… Natsu woke up?" Laxus asked, confused. He wasn't awake now. Now that he looked, though, he had some suspiciously fresh looking blood coming out of his crumpled-looking nose…

"Y-yeah…" Gray continued, "I couldn't get the fire fucker to calm down, but I was sure he was going to hurt himself, so, I… Uh…"

Laxus and Jellal both facepalmed simultaneously, but it was Jellal who spoke up, "Tell me you didn't attack an injured and severely poisoned guildmate because he was trying to get up…"

"Well, when you put it that way…"

"Mavis, Gray, what the hell were you thinking? Why didn't you just freeze his legs down or something? Isn't he contagious anyway?"

"Yeah, yeah he is," Jellal answered Laxus' question.

Gray just fell backwards and groaned, "Whatever," toward no one in particular, clearly embarrassed that he'd been dumb enough to get infected after being warned about it (though he seemed absolutely unashamed that he was now wearing only boxers).

"Let me guess," Jellal continued, ignoring Gray's dramatics, "You hit Gray because he was fighting with Natsu?"

"Well of course!" she defended, "Best friends shouldn't fight!"

Laxus ran a hand through his hair.

"Fuck, man, I'm done with this. Jellal, have you seen Gramps?"

Jellal's expression turned somewhat grim as he regarded the blonde mage in front of him.

"What?" Laxus gruffed out, annoyed.

"Happy told me he went after Lucy a little over an hour ago. Said he was headed toward the East Forest, and that he wasn't to be followed."

"Of fucking course he did," the lightning slayer grumbled.

"Stinky humans!" Porlyusica shouted from her spot near the middle of the injured mages, "If you're able to move, I need you to come take a dose of this antidote, and help Wendy and I administer the rest of the potion to the injured! Now!"

The group of five that had just made it through with Mest all hopped to, racing towards the little bowls Porlyusica had gestured to and hurried to do as she asked. Levy seemed to lead the group in their efforts, easily dividing the injured into quadrants and assigning mages to watch over the separate areas and monitor their "patients". One mage to each section, with Levy hovering somewhere in the middle, passing out doses of the corrected potion and waiting to step in if someone needed extra help.

Laxus left Jellal to babysit Team Natsu, with a whispered, "Don't let them go after Lucy under any circumstances," before making his way toward the guild entrance, where Freed, Evergreen, Bickslow, Max, and the kids all entered. The kids were breathing a little heavy and the adults were a little windblown, making it pretty clear they'd run most of the way back.

"Bix, did you run into Gramps?" he asked the seith mage quietly.

"Nah, man. I thought I felt his magic flare to the south of us at one point, but we couldn't afford the detour. Freed was worried about dragging the kids into danger - which Ruby found offensive, by the way - but we were planning on heading back once we'd gotten Max and the others home."

"No, stay here. The exceeds have been on watch since we first got here, I want you three to take over for a few hours. Keep everyone out of the guild hall, there is still venom floating around in there and it's dangerous. Everyone else should be here soon."

"You got it, Boss. I'll tell Freed and Ever. Where are you going?"

Laxus shrugged, "Gotta go get Blondie and Gramps. I'll be back in a bit," he said casually, striding over to Porlyusica.

"Wait, what's going on with Cosplayer?" Bickslow shouted at his retreating form. He didn't get an answer, but he shook it off. He was worried, but he shouldn't have been surprised. Sometimes he thought that the little blonde took out ads in the paper requesting she be kidnapped for world-ending schemes. It happened way too often to be some kind of random thing.

"Porlyusica, you said Gramps needed the new medication, right?" Laxus said as he reached her.

The pink headed healer scowled, "Yeah, he does," she held her hand out, a glass vial filled with the same liquid that was in the bowls everyone was carefully feeding to the injured wizards. "You're going after him, right?"

He smiled, "Yeah. Thanks."

He took off toward the south end of the East Forest, following the faint smell of his grandfather through town.


	6. Chapter 6

**Hello Dear Readers! **

**I hope you like this chapter and the direction the story is taking! Please, take a moment to rate and review so I can get a good idea of what you're all responding to and what you enjoy! **

**REMINDERS (though they are probably obvious)**:

**I do NOT own Fairy Tail.**

**Though they have yet to make their appearance, I also do NOT own Desna's Pradesh Characters.**

* * *

Gildarts was brooding. He'd never admit that out loud, but internally he could accept that the pacing, nail biting, and deep thinking he'd been doing couldn't really be anything other than downright _broody._ And he hated it. His whole personality was based around his laid-back attitude and complete disregard for the things around him (including walls, destruction, etc.).

Honestly, though, he couldn't help it. This situation was _bad. _In a lot of different ways, but mostly he couldn't find a single way to explain the events that had occurred without coming to the frustrating, rage-inducing conclusion that one of their nakama had betrayed them to a dark guild. A betrayal that led to severe injuries in at least half the guild, a broken and nearly dead Vijeeter, and the 143rd kidnapping (at best, he wasn't currently considering the possibility of her being dead - not a chance) of the guild's celestial wizard.

Even now, they were more vulnerable than ever and it just made him uneasy. And broody. Oh how he hated that he'd been reduced to practically mimicking Gray's everyday personality. At least he wasn't stripping unconsciously.

Wendy, Chelia, and Porlyusica were all exhausted. Wendy and Chelia, magically, because both had run themselves into mere moments away from magical depletion, and Porlyusica because she'd been summoned at nearly three in the morning and hadn't rested since.

The whole of the mostly-former Team Natsu - the most notable team in Fairy Tail to this day - was out for the count. Natsu, while he'd begun to stir again, was down and recovering, Erza and Gray both passed out while their antidote had been given.

The Thunder Legion was dead on their feet, they'd been keeping watch since they arrived and Freed wasn't much better off than the healers, since he'd been putting up an unprecedented amount of runes around the guild hall and courtyard and maintaining them. He didn't have any charged lacrima to attach them to as a powersource, so he was feeding them magic directly. It was starting to catch up to him.

The most of the guild was either emotionally compromised, physically compromised, or downright exhausted, and they didn't have any idea when the enemy would choose to strike again. And they couldn't hole up in the guild hall or even gather supplies from inside until they'd dealt with the venom still permeating the air inside.

'_Fuck this…' _Gildarts thought to himself grumpily. He kicked his brooding thoughts to the curb and took action, gathering the only available members back to his side.

"Alright, ladies," the crash mage addressed the three mages who gathered around him, "we can't sit on our asses anymore. We gotta get this place cleaned up and get everyone out of the open".

Gajeel, Jellal, and Elfman looked at the older mage for a moment before all grumbling their agreement.

"Cleaning up is manly," Elfman spoke somberly, earning an eye roll from the iron Slayer.

"Ya got any suggestions on _how_ we're gonna do that, old man?"

With a finger on his chin, Gildarts seemed to put some thought into the question for a few moments. Finally, he seemed to escape his thoughts and refocused on the mages in front of him.

"Nah, not a clue"

Sighing, Jellal pinched the bridge of his nose and shook his head. He loved this guild, he loved Erza, and he loved the fact that all the wizards here had become the first family he'd truly known. But sometimes, he just couldn't understand how so many idiots had gathered in one place. Or how they'd managed to run an even semi-successful guild for longer than a week. Or even how they survived that long.

"If no one else has a suggestion, I have a plan. Would you like to hear it?"

"Nope." Gildarts, Elfman, and Gajeel said in unison.

Jellal sighed heavily, "... Fine. Leave it to me. You three just go make yourselves useful and switch out with the Thunder Legion."

The blue-haired mage watched the other three walk away and take their places on the perimeter. Elfman looked to be overeager, his head darting back and forth as he kept watch. Gajeel and Gildarts looked relatively bored, but the former was reaching out with his enhanced senses, the latter was likely feeling out around them with his magic. Or maybe he wasn't actually watching at all. With Gildarts it was hard to tell.

Thinking through the situation had Jellal frowning as he planned through what needed to happen next. He needed Wendy or Chelia in order to get back into the guild hall, that much he was certain of. But neither mage was prepared to do much of anything at the moment.

If he had Lucy, things might be doable. Celestial Spirits were mostly immune to Earthland poisons or venoms, and the times he'd worked with Lucy he had come to appreciate the talents of her maid spirit, Virgo. That pink-haired masochist could clean anything. _Anything. _He had witnessed Virgo completely erase her master's magic signature while they were using hefty amounts of shadow magic to stealthily gather information from a dark guild. He'd also seen her sneaking out if her own gate to clean random parts of the guild when they got too dirty for her liking (which was essentially, if they were unoccupied and had a spec of dirt on them). He was sure she'd be able to cleanse the guild hall of the venomous magic, if only she were available.

Thinking if Virgo had him thinking of Lucy, and that just had him depressed, stressed, and worried. He was pretty sure that she had been kidnapped about 142 times before today (he had actually been counting, but he couldn't be sure he'd recorded all the separate instances), so he shouldn't be shocked that she'd get attacked once again. Still, this time seemed different. He had a bad feeling about it, and it set him on edge. Since he'd been pardoned by Queen Hisui (which, in and of itself, was Lucy's doing), he had come to have a close relationship with the celestial wizard. She was just _so forgiving. _Faster than anyone, beside Erza herself, she'd accepted him into her guild, her team, her family. Much as she had with the Thunder Legion after Fantasia.

Every step of the way, Lucy had encouraged Jellal to join in, to enjoy himself, to participate and interact with the others in the guild. She badgered him endlessly, if a bit subtly, to simply allow himself to feel some small measure of the peace and comfort involved in being a part of a family. She helped him let go, a little but at a time, of all the horrible guilt that ate away at his soul.

Hell, she saved his life once. He'd never forget the night she rescued him, a former wizard saint, from a small but cunning dark guild with an astounding amount of grace and ease - and then proceeded to tear into him about how stupid he'd been rushing in alone after hearing information about them from Crime Sorciere. The words she'd spoken to him that night often bounced around in his head, whenever he was feeling particularly guilt-ridden.

"_You did terrible things, Jellal. You and I both know that. And you can't take them back. What's done is done, and you have to live with that. But honestly, you were posessed. Sure, it was you who did the things you did, but you weren't yourself. And I get that you're not gonna be able to just pretend it never happened. But you're gonna have to find a way to fo__rgive yourself and move the hell on. All the others have forgiven you already, and you've fought hard to make up for the past.. You're nouse to anyone if you spend your whole life denying yourself any form of happiness, if you keep pulling back away from your family and your friends and trying to run off on your own. you aren't good to anyone if you're fucking dead. You want to right the wrongs of the world? Great. I believe you can, honestly, I do. But you can't do it alone, so stop trying." She sighed a bit and relaxed her angry and disappointed expression._

_She was regaining her composure as Jellal kept on brooding. She dropped her head back, staring up at the stars through glass skylights, and simply lost herself in thought. They'd been sitting on a bench at the train station, Lucy waiting for the train headed West to take her toward her next mission, Jellal headed East back to Magnolia to heal his wounds and face an angry and worried Erza. _

_She took a deep breath, and continued her lecture, speaking softly this time. "Listen…" she started, "I'm not sure if you realize, but you joined FAIRY TAIL. We can do _anything. _And I'm not just saying that. We have proven time and again that nothing is beyond our reach._ _We are unstoppable, and if any single group on Earthland can accomplish your goal, it's us," she said, pride coloring her voice. "But our strength doesn't come from powerful individuals. Sure, we have a lot of powerful mages. And sure, we are all pushing ourselves to get stronger, but our real strength lies in our bonds to one another. Only together can we reach our full potential. So go home, Blueberry," Jellal rolled his eyes at her use of Cobra's favorite nickname for him, "and if you survive Erza," she shuddered at that thought, but then smiled as she continued, "then forgive yourself, and keep moving forward." _

_Jellal felt his stubborn will crack, just a little, as he listened to her words. He wanted to forgive himself, really he did, but still a large part of him couldn't help but clutch to his guilt like a lifeline. Like if he started living, the Earth would open up and swallow him whole for allowing any amount of happiness into his broken soul. So, as a feeble attempt to hold on to his determination to deny himself all joy in life, he snapped back at her. He fought to find the flaw in her, in her argument, in the logic that she was feeding him. _

"_That was a bold lecture, Lucy," bitterness clouded his tone, "but despite your lecture, here you are, heading to a mission all alone. Despite your commitment to the idea that you can only achieve success with others by your side, you're leaving here without anyone else. You probably snuck away in the middle of the night to get away from Natsu to do so." _

_To his surprise, she didn't falter, but her smile only grew mischievous._

_She pulled something glinting from her belt and shook the golden and silver keys in his face, "What do you mean, Blue?" She giggled the words, her eyes alight with humor, "I'm never alone!"_

Jellal found himself smiling at the memory. It was after that talk with Lucy that he'd finally managed to let himself be with Erza the way they'd both desired for so long (after she beat him within an inch of his life for being so reckless). A year later and he is still so grateful for the Light of Fairy Tail's interference. '_I hope she's okay…'_

Taking a deep breath, he cleared his thoughts of everything except the task at hand. He had a guild to protect, and right now he was the best equipped to handle the guild leadership until the others returned.

Lucy would rip him apart if he let their nakama get hurt because he was feeling nostalgic.

Looking a bit paler at the thought of Scary Lucy, he began directing the available wizards in the tasks they needed to complete before they could move everyone back into the hall.

* * *

Hours. It had been hours since he started tracking the unfamiliar, subtle trail of magic that he found leading away from Fairy Tail, and he still hadn't seen any indication of the enemy. Not so much as a broken branch. The light blue sky of early evening had faded, darkened to the deep expanse of star-studded navy that indicated the latest of the night, and still nothing.

The fact that he couldn't sense the golden warmth that was Lucy's magical signature worried Makarov. Greatly. If she was alive, surely her spirits would have come out to help her? Or she'd be fighting back? Or even if she couldn't do either of those things, she'd normally have the presence of mind to leave a magical trail, or even a physical one, so her guildmates could track her down. None of these things seemed to have happened, and Makarov was scared. Terrified.

He really didn't want to find the end of the trail just to find her corpse. He wasn't sure he could handle it, and the longer it took to find the end of the trail, the more hopeless the situation seemed to be.

It wasn't until the dark of night lightened into the softer blues that indicated an impending sunrise that the bleak situation changed.

Miles into the thick foliage of the dense forest, he _finally_ heard voices off to his right, towards the southernmost part East Forest. Still far off, but close enough to hear faintly, and the magic he had been tracking carefully was closer at hand. Turning abruptly, the elderly guild master made his way quickly and quietly toward the noise.

Makarov shoved his fears of what he'd find to the side, and approached the sound. The trees got slightly further apart, and the way the light got slightly brighter ahead told the master that they had gathered in some sort of clearing. Carefully, he pulled in and hid his magical presence, and approached the clearing silently. He hid behind a particularly dense section of foliage at the edge of the forest and observed from a distance until he figured out what he was dealing with. He could feel the poison in his system, slowed by the potion he'd been given before he left, but he knew it was still a problem. He was at a disadvantage with it effecting him and his magic. He couldn't afford to charge in, no matter how badly he wanted to explode in fury over what they'd done to his family.

He briefly felt concern clench his heart at the thought of the venom, hoping his children had all received treatment quickly enough that they'd survive. His worry lasted only a moment before he heard something that pulled him out of his thoughts and sent a wave of relief through his body:

"_LET ME GO! You… You VILE, despicable excuse for a wizard, get your hands OFF OF ME!" _he heard Lucy's clear voice ring out ahead of him, just as he caught glimpses of the wizards he'd been chasing. She was in the middle of them, the evil bastards, and clearly, very much, _not_ happy about that fact. Kicking, yelling at them, he thought he even saw her bite at one of them. But she was alive.

He was concerned with how very little energy he felt from her. Even this close to her, he could barely feel just tiny wisps of magic from her body. The amount of magic it takes to open a portal to another realm was _enormous. _For most mages, it's unthinkable to even consider expending the amount of energy it took to open even her little dog spirit's gate on a single spell. Gold keys, doubly so. As such, mages with a predisposition for celestial magic held massive magical reserves. And Lucy? She had always been a cut above the rest. Her magical power before Tartaros was intense, and if she wasn't subconsciously subduing her magical presence, those around her would feel it in the very air they breathed. And since? In the two years since the demons attacked, Lucy had grown leaps and bounds in her magic. Every time she returned to the guild, he found himself marvelling at her progress. At twenty years old, she had more power at her disposal than at least three of the ten wizard saints. So to be this close to her, and barely feel any magic? She had to be in depletion, and she needed help.

Pushing past his concern for the girl, he observed the mages in front of him closely. He hoped to get some information on them quickly so he could take action to help Lucy without wasting more time.

He took in the image of three mages, all of whom he could feel decently strong magic in. The woman in leather seemed the weakest, though she was on-par magically with most of the mages he'd put forth in this year's S-Class exams. The larger, darker-haired male held deep magical reserves, probably on level with Erza or Natsu. The third held more magic than Master, maybe even more than Laxus, and despite his lack of rank, the lightning wizard held more magic than even Lucy usually did. Normally, he wouldn't be overly concerned. Magic power levels, while they can be a decent indicator of skill level, they aren't always. Some magics just aren't as offensive or challenging as others, so it was possible that he could take them all by himself.

What did concern him? He wasn't at full strength. The venom was still seeping through his veins, he'd been travelling for hours without rest, and as much as he really didn't want to admit it? He was old. Magically he hadn't suffered much, he still held more magic than most. Laxus only recently overtook him in magical strength. But physically, he had very little stamina compared to working mages. He wouldn't last a full-scale, all-out battle with the three mages in front of him.

That thought struck him for a moment.

'_Odd…' _he thought to himself, going over the information he'd been given in his head.

'_Romeo said there were three of them, two women and a man.'_

He didn't have time to think about it overmuch, as he was torn from his thoughts moments later when Lucy once again made her voice known to those around her, "_How dare you…" _

Her words, while spoken quite softly, were full of a wrath even the master had not witnessed from her before, "She… She was your _comrade, _you filthy, scum-sucking pile of demon shit_. _You don't fucking deserve the air you breathe after you're actions today! I'll-"

She was cut off by an awful-sounding backhand to her left cheekbone. Makarov saw the skin on her cheek split from the force of the impact, and it took all he had not to jump out there and beat the man to death right then and there. He grit his teeth. One more hit and he was going out there, information obtained or not.

Fists clenched tightly, he observed them while remaining unseen. They thought they were in control now. If they were going to reveal any sort of information, now would be the time.

Lucy was in the center of the clearing, being held by her arms by the two weaker mages: greasy-headed man to her left, the dull blonde to her right. They were both holding her in place, and holding her on her feet, as she was completely sagged over from the force of the hit she'd just taken, combined with the overwhelming magical exhaustion she'd been facing for hours.

The largest of the group was wearing loose-fitted gray pants and a long, black, sleeveless jacket that fell to his knees, with a sword strapped to his back over his shoulder. His hair was a dark red color, and it's slight waves hung to the nape of his neck, slicked back and streaked with dark gray. He was obviously older, someone who was probably close to Gildarts or Ivan's age. He was the one who had hit Lucy, and he was standing there with a handkerchief in his hands, wiping the small streaks of blood that had stayed on his knuckles.

Makarov was pissed, but hoping they'd give away something, _anything, _before he jumped into the fight to take on three powerful mages on his own. His anger was not something to be scoffed at, but he'd be in no shape to chase them down if they fled, and he was sure they'd be back. He needed information. He knew Lucy would understand.

Based on the defiant look on her face as she glared at her captors, he was sure she would.

Lucy clearly couldn't move, was magically and physically drained (or he was certain Loke, at least, would be out and fighting), but the master could _still _feel the power of her fury from where he stood in the trees. She redirected her gaze from the ground to the face of the man who had struck her, and the glare she shot him was so full of venom he was somewhat surprised he didn't fall over clutching at his chest. It was a testament to the red head's strength, or stupidity, that he wasn't cowering away from her in the state she was in.

Even among the strongest wizards in Fairy Tail, there were few that didn't fear Scary Lucy. She was a force of nature, one that was not at all tempered by the fact that she was running on empty. She might not have the ability at the moment to attack the man in front of her, but he had no doubts at all, that at some point in the future, this man would regret bringing down the wrath of the celestial mage before him.

Choking out the words through her anger, Lucy spoke again, "I will, _I promise I will, _make you regret what you've done. Nothing in this world or the next will keep you safe from me."

Her attention strayed for a moment away from the man's face and to the trees behind him. She was seeing red, her anger pushing her to a place of rage she hadn't experienced before, and if she didn't focus on something else she was bound to release magic power that she couldn't afford to lose.

A slight, almost unnoticeable movement caught her eye, and she had to fight the smirk that threatened to break out on her features. Outwardly, she showed no signs of having noticed anything. Inwardly, she was shouting praises to the stars she summoned. '_Master… he made it!"_

Lucy was nothing if not a strategist, so she knew why he'd yet to make a move. He wanted information. She wasn't great at perceiving magical levels and aura's, but she could do it a little, and what little she could tell from the mages surrounding her? They were strong enough that they could probably be trouble, even for a wizard saint such as Makarov. Well, she'd be damn sure to arm him with whatever information she could before he engaged.

Oblivious to everything around him, the gray and black-clad man in front of her chuckled darkly, "Oh, how sad it is that we'll have to sacrifice you soon…," He grinned evilly at her, "I do _quite _enjoy your threats. Your sass. Though it only makes it that much sweeter when I watch the life drain from your eyes."

Lucy, having been in the same situation 142 times before, wasn't entirely phased by this. There were few kidnappings she'd been involved in that _didn't _seek her death. Or sacrifice. Whichever, really. At this point she pretty much expected it. Though this threat seemed a bit more credible, given how many of her friends they'd already hurt, she still felt the best response to this was to roll her eyes. Twice.

And then once more when glared at her.

"You don't seem to be taking this very seriously," the man observed.

She scoffed, "Of course not. You're not the first to try it".

The man's smirk widened, "Ah, maybe not. Though, I'm sure we _are_ the first to slaughter half your guild?"

Lucy's defiant eyes lost a bit of their edge. She'd been past the point of paying attention when they'd left the hall, barely conscious. She saw Piper die, at the hands of the asshole in front of her now, and that fact had put her into such a rage that it was all she could think about. But now, thinking back… she saw only flashes of memory.

Mira, collapsed and unmoving just outside the guild hall.

Purple magic permeating the air. Piper's limp body losing all shape, collapsing into ash where before there was an ambitious teenager. A teenager that used snakes… and _venom._

Natsu falling… falling… _Natsu… _

Reedus, Macao, clutching at their chests.

Groups of mages collapsing around the back of the building.

'_Natsu… N-No….'_

Lucy's throat constricted, her eyes filling with tears she refused to let fall, "Y-you're lying," for the first time since she found herself in the company of these mages, her voice wasn't full of venom. Wasn't full of conviction and malice. It was full of fear. Uncertainty.

"Fallen Star mages don't lie. We actually _can't. _As is the nature of the curse your wretched mother put upon us. Your guildmates, your _nakama, _were on death's door when we left them. So tell me, _Heartfilia, _do you feel like rolling your eyes now?"

A choked sob left her throat. Lucy might not know what the hell he was talking about, bringing up her mom and some curse. But she could _feel _traces of Heartfilia magic on the trio around her, now that she focused her attention on it. It resonated with her own magic in a way that could only mean they were under a spell of some kind that was tied to her very bloodline.

She had no idea what it meant, not in the least. But if he was right about being spelled… was he right about her family?

"T-They… C-can't be… D-d-dead…" she whispered brokenly. All thoughts on helping Makarov obtain information went out the window. She forgot he was there completely, filled with a hollow sense of loss, and of guilt. They were dead.

They were dead. Dead.

Dead because of _her._

'_No…'_

"_NO!" _She raged. All thought of her own survival, gone. All thought of Makarov standing there, gone.

With a massive, unrestrained blast of energy, she depleted her reserves entirely. White-gold magic escaped from the center of her body and blasted outward, creating a small crater in the Earth at her feet.

It forced the two mages holding her arms away from her, being thrown off of her violently and tossed to the dirt on either side of her body as she fell heavily to her knees.

It didn't matter, because now she couldn't move.

The mage in front of her was unaffected. She was so low in magical power as it was, she couldn't do much other than a small, ineffective show of force, and he knew it.

He laughed, "Ah, my dear girl!" he clapped slowly, his smile unrestrained as he watched her crumble before him.

"Oh how captivating! That was wonderful! It's too bad you've depleted yourself though. I'm going to have to get you a healer when I'm done interrogating you!"

Lucy said nothing in response. She felt nothing. Not the broken ground cutting painfully into her knees. Not the excruciating pain of an empty magical container. She felt only numb, hollow, and guilty. Her friends, family. They were dead because she was too _weak _to save them. _Again._

She fell forward, landing painfully on her face and didn't move again, while the two mages at her side stood up slowly.

"Alec, at this rate she'll die before you even find the other Zodiac…" the greasy-haired male called cautiously.

"Oh nonsense, Bruno," The older mage shrugged, "you worry too much!"

Bruno, the large greasy man, who had been staring at his superior, shifted his attention behind the man and his face paled considerably. He tried to throw out a warning to his guildmates, but he was stunned into silence by the suddenly overwhelming magical pressure in the air.

"You're going to pay for hurting my family!" Makarov shouted at the enemy, his voice rumbling through the very trees that he stood taller than.


	7. Chapter 7

**Hello lovelies!**

**Sorry for the long wait, but I hope this chapter is worth it! Please rate and review!**

**Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail, Desna owns the Pradesh Family, I am neither Hiro Mashima nor Desna - so I don't own any of this.**

**Thanks!**

Of all the stupid things his grandfather could have done, this one took the cake. Or at least that was Laxus' opinion. Running off after Lucy on his own when he'd literally been fucking poisoned? Against enemies that had taken on and severely injured almost half the guild, including the nearly indestructible pyromaniac and the guild's resident demon? It was downright irresponsible, even if Makarov _is _one of the few people in the guild that can track a magical signature.

Knowing that his thoughts weren't helping the situation, Laxus pushed them aside to focus on the matter at hand. Lucy had been taken, again, and his Gramps was likely weakened and taking on strong mages somewhere in the East Forest. He needed to hurry up and get to them both before the situation got worse, and so he started off at a jog, following his grandfather's scent trail.

* * *

"Makarov Dreyer, Wizard Saint of Fiore, how nice of you to join us!" Alec called out to the giant old man as he landed behind Lucy's limp form, a smug smirk on his face.

Master Makarov only glared at the mage before him, the vein in his forehead twitching in irritation. "You will release my child at once," He commanded menacingly, addressing the mage who was obviously in charge. Terra and Bruno both cowered from their positions a few feet from Lucy on either side of her body, scooting away from her as much as they could without being obvious. Makarov's aura was immense and the feeling of his rage was not something they wanted to experience.

Alec's grin widened marginally, "you mean this?" he asked, gesturing at Lucy by kicking at her ribs, his lip curling slightly in disgust.

Makarov's rage increased, and instead of lashing out at Alec, he grabbed Bruno in one hand, Terra in the other, and threw both of them to the back of the clearing. Bruno smashed through a tree and landed in a heap, a sharp gasp escaping his lips. Terra had fallen just short of a tree to Bruno's left and rolled rather violently to smash into a cluster of rocks that then cracked from the impact. Terra, who'd sustained far more serious injuries in the previous fight, fell into unconsciousness.

Bruno stood up slowly trying to get his bearings with blood falling from his eyebrow into his left eye.

"That was your last warning, Cinder. From here on out, I get serious. Hand over Lucy, _now, _and I might let you live," Makarov spoke almost calmly.

Alec, who had barely even glanced in his team's direction, lifted a hand to his chin in thought.

"Unfortunately for you, Dreyer, I don't give a shit about my team. Do whatever you want with them, but Lucy is mine and I will not allow you to take her back."

Makarov's magic spiked and he grew a bit taller, "You leave me no choice!" he shouted, as he launched himself toward his opponent. Alec moved quickly out of the way of the fist headed his direction, laughing as he gathered his magic and they continued trading blows.

"Sorry to say this," Cinder shouted back, "But I don't have time for this. Ms. Heartfilia has some information she needs to share with me, and I'm afraid much longer and she'll die of magical depletion, the poor thing…"

Makarov panicked at that statement, stopping mid-swing look in Lucy's direction. He could just barely make out that she was still breathing.

Alec, not one to let an opening pass him by, took advantage of Makarov's distraction by darting up to the giant's feet and sending a blast of heated magic at the man's face. Master didn't have time to dodge, but he gained his bearing quickly and crossed his arms in front of him to block the attack as much as he could. The attack threw him off balance and he stumbled backwards as blisters and burns appeared on his arms where the blast of heat had struck him.

He grunted out in pain but took it in stride, focusing back on the fight at hand, catching sight of Cinder's smug face. "Heat without fire, huh… Scorch magic?"

Alec's grin widened slightly, "Ah, indeed. I'm glad to find someone who recognizes my magic. So few understand it these days…" he said gleefully, before launching back into attack mode.

"Really, Makarov, you think you can take me on? This is a particularly bad matchup for you, all things considered," Alec taunted further.

Makarov punched the ground at his feet with such force that cracks formed in the Earth, spanning outward toward Cinder, who dodged by jumping into the trees at the edge of the clearing. The master responded in kind by yanking the trees out of the ground with his large fists, and throwing said trees toward Bruno, who was now struggling to make his way back to Lucy. He yelped and dodged, but a branch from one particularly large tree caught his arm and he went tumbling backward into the forest on the other side of the open area.

Alec jumped from the trees to land on Makarov's shoulders, his sword drawn and placed at the old man's neck, "Gotcha," he said calmly.

Instead of freezing as Alec had expected him to, Makarov simply grumpled, and grabbed Alec from his shoulder by the ankle and smashed him hard into the ground at his feet, a cloud of dust cropping up where his body fell.

"I don't think so. Don't underestimate an old man, Cinder," Makarov spat at the man.

Said man made his way to his feet and backed up a few paces. "I'm not, trust me. But what more can you really do with that venom running through your veins?" He asked, gathering magic into his hands again.

Makarov swore under his breath. The stupid bastard wasn't wrong. He could feel the venom draining his magic power, and while he had immense stores of it, eventually his strength would fail him. Especially if Alec kept standing up from hits like that looking like he wasn't even bothered.

Gritting his teeth, Makarov threw himself into another attack, craters being made in his wake as he pursued his enemy relentlessly. Alec seemed intent on dodging and defense, with little to no regard as to what offense he was putting out. He seemed to be waiting for something, which was a both a disadvantage to Makarov and something that caused him confusion. Didn't this asshole say he needed Lucy alive? Why was he stalling?

'_Shit.'_

Alec's lips quirked once more as he saw Bruno leaping out from behind Makarov and back toward Terra, Lucy in his arms. In the next moment, Alec gathered immense amounts of magic power and through a massive wave of heat at Makarov, shouting, "Scorched Wave!"

Makarov learned then why the man had been stalling. Because he _did _need Lucy alive, and this attack was so massive that not only did Makarov fall to the ground, parts of his arms charred so badly that they were colored black and his skin was already flaking off, but the entire first row of trees behind him turned to ash. The heat from the attack was so intense that Makarov couldn't even breathe, and some of the trees behind that first row burst into flames.

Gasping for breath and trying to ignore the intense pain in his body (and the smell of burning flesh in his nostrils), Makarov fought once again to stand.

He stumbled once, twice, before standing at full height once more, his face twisted into a scowl.

"That was a good move, getting Lucy out of the way so you could attack full-out. I wasn't expecting an attack of that magnitude," he spat out, breathing heavily, "but you've forgotten something…"

Alec, who was steps away still looking rather proud of himself, allowed his brows to furrow in slight confusion, "What ever could you mean?"

Makarov grinned, "You're little puppet is helping my child stay alive, and you've just gotten her far enough from me that I don't have to hold back!"

Magic power surged from the guild master, gathering around him in a yellow light, as Alec paled just a bit. He didn't expect the old man to still be this powerful with the venom in his system. He began taking steps back while bracing himself - he wasn't sure where the attack was going to come from.

"Giants Wrath!" Shouted Makarov, the area around him practically exploding with the force of the magic he was expelling. He charged at Alec once more, allowing his giant form to drop and increasing his speed, finally utilizing the full power of his light magic on the enemy.

Alec tried his best to dodge, but even when he dodged the various punches and kicks coming from the acrobatic old man, the powerful aura he was emanating caused damage. He finally got a hit in, pushing Makarov back several feet, and struck as quickly as he could with a blast of heat.

The spell pushed the small man back just far enough that Alec could charge another attack, this one far deadlier than he'd been planning to use in this fight, but the stubborn old man was becoming a real problem.

"Scorch Shot!"

The blast of heat became a visible blast of red magic power that Makarov knew would cause trouble for him. As quickly as he could manage, he crossed his arms over his chest and cast, "Three Pillar Gods!"

Immediately Makarov felt the drain on his magic. The Three Pillar Gods defense spell was a massively powerful thing, and nigh indestructible, but with the current level of his magic power, the spell was unbalanced when he cast it. It drained his magical reserves, and after a few moments of sustained damage from Alec's spell, Makarov's defense shattered. He was hit directly in the stomach with the powerful blast of heat and power, and was thrown backward into a tree near where he entered the clearing. He smashed into the hard surface of the tree, hard, crumpling to the ground at its roots. His breathing was shallow, the clothing on his stomach burned away, along with a good portion of his own skin scorched and charred, and he was unmoving.

Alec, catching his breath, bent at the waist and exhaled heavily, "Man, that was more annoying than it was supposed to be-"

A muffled sob cut him off, and he turned to see Lucy being forced to a kneeling position by Bruno, his grip on her shoulders tight and most probably bruising, and her hands to her face as tears streamed from her eyes, "M-Master…."

Cinder rolled his eyes. '_Women. Tch.'_

"Oh calm down. He's not dead yet," he said to her, turning to face Makarov once again, and drawing the sword from his back as he stepped closer to the aging man.

A bloodcurdling scream echoed through the clearing, "Nooooo! Don't you _fucking _touch him!" Lucy shouted, still sobbing.

Alec ignored her, continuing to walk toward Makarov to finish him off. He did stop, though, when a flash of golden magic signalled the arrival of a celestial spirit. Not behind him, but rather in front of him, standing protectively over Makarov's barely-living form.

"I, Leo the Lion, refuse to allow further harm to come to the Master of Fairy Tail. Step back." Loke said firmly, worry in his eyes but determination filling his voice.

Alec scoffed, "What the hell? What about protecting your own master?"

Loke narrowed his eyes at the man in front of him. He was out on his own power, just barely, and he didn't have the strength to do much of anything. In order to even show up on his own, he has to latch on to Lucy's magic to tie him to Earthland. Lucy had so little of that at the moment, that all he could really do there was stand and speak, as all his effort and power was being forced into maintaining his connection with the tiny remnants of Lucy's magic within her. Lucy knew this, Loke knew this, and they really, really, couldn't afford to let Alec know that Loke was incapable of fighting at the moment.

"I am doing what my master ordered of me. I will not allow harm to come to this man. Should you challenge me on this, you will force Lucy to expend the last of her magic and she will die, and whatever answers you want out of her will die with her." Loke managed to speak without choking, though all he wanted to do was sob. Because as much as he would like to deny it, he knew that Lucy was very nearly dead already, and there was nothing he or the other spirits could do to stop it.

"You heard him, Alec! Leave him alone!" Lucy shouted, drawing the deep red-haired man's attention back to her.

He turned fully and carefully studied his prisoner. "Why would you protect him at the cost of your own life?" he mused aloud.

"He is family. And he is only here because he was trying to save me. Just… leave him be." she said, determination filling her gaze. She had been calling out to Loke mentally, begging for him to protect the master, and there he was. She knew this was all he could do for her, but in this moment, she knew it was enough. She might die or be captured, but Makarov had a chance at surviving. Enough people died for her sake today, she couldn't go to the grave with her father-figure on her conscience as well.

Alec thought for a moment before waving his hand dismissively. "Oh fine… fine. He's going to die from that venom anyway," he muttered to himself, before stepping up to Lucy once more.

"If what you say about not being able to lie is the truth, then promise me that you will not harm him further. Promise me."

Bruno tightened his fingers on her shoulders, "Shut up, you stupid girl. It's not your place to make demands of the leader!"

Alec waved at him, "Oh, it's no bother, Bruno. She's just got a bit of a spark in her, she can't help it," he bent down in front of her, looking into her eyes, "very well, Heartfilia. I will not harm him further, you have my word."

Lucy, who had been staring at him angrily, sagged against the hold Bruno had on her. She was exhausted, and she could feel Loke's power draining from his attempt to stay on Earthland without her power as an anchor. Sighing, she looked over the man's shoulder to Loke and nodded tiredly at her spirit, tears in her eyes as she thought it may be the last time she would ever see him. "Go on," she whispered brokenly, "Thank you, Loke".

'_For everything,'_ she thought, thinking the words to herself as she resigned herself to her fate. Her friends were dead. Her master was injured and likely would die alone in the forest. She was certain that even her own death couldn't be as painful as that reality. She would never give this man what he wanted, not after what he had done to her family, but at least now, if she gave him her life, she could at least hold on to the fact that she'd done all she could to save the man who was more of a father to her than her own had been.

Loke gave her a Fairy Tail salute, discreetly, as he finally allowed the magic to fade and tears to stream down his face silently as he disappeared back to his world in a flash of gold.

When he was gone, Lucy sank fully into Bruno's hold, unable to appear strong or even care to.

"Now," Alec began, a slow smile spreading on his face, "You're going to tell me where the zodiac keys are."

Lucy's eyes widened, before her mouth set in a hard line. Even when she felt nothing but guilt and pain over her guild, she would protect her spirits. She'd protect them with everything she had and more.

"Nope."

"I'm not asking. You _will _tell me. And I know you have ten of them, and I know they are close to you somehow, as evident by the fact that not three minutes ago Leo the Lion was standing among us. So tell me, before things get nasty."

"Not a chance, asshole," Lucy responded, punctuating her response by physically spitting in the bastard's slightly wrinkled face.

As he drew back quickly and wiped his face, Lucy thanked Erza internally once more for teaching her requip magic, as she knew all her keys were safely in her magical storage right now and wouldn't be reachable by anyone unless she died. Even with her death, they'd be safe. At least for a little while. She and Freed had enchanted her requip space to deposit her keys into the guildmaster's office at Fairy Tail if she were to die, and those morons had contaminated the entire guild hall when they killed her family. Even they couldn't possibly get back in to retrieve them, on top of the fact that the S-Class mages would be returning soon. Idiots.

Lucy was pulled out of her smug thoughts as a hand cracked across her already bruised and bloody cheek. Her vision swam, and she was wrenched out of Bruno's hold by Alec's grip on her throat before she even had a chance to recover from the backhand she'd received.

She struggled against the man's powerful grip, clutching desperately at his arm to relieve the pressure of being held above the ground by her neck, her other hand clawing at his hand to try and relieve the pressure of his hand crushing her windpipe.

"You're going to pay for that stunt, you overzealous slut!" Alec shouted in her face, squeezing that much tighter on her throat.

Lucy kicked at him, squirming in his grip, to no avail. Black spots danced in her vision, darkness creeping in at the edges of her sight line. She should have been terrified. But she could only bring herself to be grateful that he'd gotten fed up with her so quickly. Because her death would mean no more guilt over the death of her guildmates, and would ensure the safety of the spirits in her care. '_Finally…' _she thought to herself just as the darkness became the only thing she could see.

She was mistaken. Alec apparently didn't give up that easily, something she learned when instead of the blissful arms of death, she found herself slammed into the hard, cold reality that was the ground. She felt cracks in the earth forming around her just as easily as she felt the cracks in her ribcage forming.

She opened her eyes to the light of early day surrounded by the trees in the clearing, and coughed roughly to clear her bruised throat to breathe. She was gasping for air as Alec's face came back into her view, as he stood with a foot on either side of her prone form and his sword in his hands. The look of evil glee on his face caused her to swallow roughly, and painfully, past the pain in her throat.

"So. Tell me. Where are the zodiacs?"

Lucy looked away. No way was she going to give away her spirits. Besides, speaking at the moment after the abuse her throat took wasn't an option. It wouldn't be a pleasant experience.

Alec's sword struck the ground next to her face, the blade barely nicking the bridge of her nose where she'd been looking away. She trembled where she sat, but still did not speak.

"Bruno," Alec hissed. Said mage jumped a bit, not having expected being addressed.

"Y-Yes, sir?" He questioned.

"Go wake that useless wench Terra. She's had a long enough nap, don't you think? Besides, I could use her talents for restraint. It's going to get a bit messy here, I can tell."

"Yes, sir!" Bruno said, shooting to his feet and rushing off to the crumpled heap of leather that was Terra.

Lucy shuddered. She should have known he would not let her go quietly. She knew for certain that he would make her beg for death, that he would cause her unimaginable pain to get the answers he wanted. She was equally certain that she would never give him what he desired. And she sure as hell wouldn't make it easy on the man standing over her.

Mustering every bit of the strength she had left, she threw her leg into the air and unleashed the best Lucy Kick she could manage. Right to the man's crotch.

Alec, who was too busy watching his useless minion number one revive his useless minion number two, didn't see the kick coming from the half-dead mage at his feet. He was struck suddenly by a powerful kick to the nuts that sent him flying a few feet back, to crumple in a sad heap just a few feet below her, whimpering uncharacteristically.

Lucy laughed out loud at the noises he made. She tried to move, to roll over and even maybe start crawling toward Makarov to check on him, but she was physically unable to do so. Even breathing was a challenge. Her magic was entirely empty, her muscles devoid of any and all energy, and all she could do was lay still and find joy in the pain she had caused the man who had killed her guildmates. It wasn't enough, really. It wasn't the death of all he held dear, but it was something, and she squeezed every ounce of satisfaction she could get out of that one moment. If she was going to die today, she was taking his ability to have children with her.

Bruno rushed to his leader, huddling close to his side and trying to help in any way he could. He stayed as far away from the maniacally cackling blonde as he possibly could while he helped him, though. He knew she couldn't move. She had clearly used the very last vestiges of her strength to kick his boss, but the madness practically radiating off the small mage was pretty terrifying. That and the strongest mage he had ever known was reduced to a simpering mess at her feet. Literally. He wasn't taking any chances.

"Terra, do something! Hold that bitch down… it looks like we're going to need a minute..." he mumbled that last part, but Terra seemed to understand the situation. She stumbled over to the group, taking note of the blonde mage _still _laughing like a lunatic, and made sure the prisoner was secured. She crouched down and held Lucy's wrists above her head.

"Earth-Make: Shackles!"

The earth around Lucy's hands shifted, forming a strong band of earth and rock on each wrist that held her limbs down to the ground. Terra repeated this process with Lucy's legs, and then created one last band around her hips to keep her from moving too much or trying to sit up. The process took at least fifteen minutes, and the entire time Lucy was chuckling to herself. She wasn't sure, but even she was convinced she had lost her sanity.

Finally, it seemed as though Alec had recovered enough to stand. And he was livid. He was going to make her pay for the pain he'd been in, and he was going to show her how it was a very bad idea to laugh at him.

He drew his sword, "Last chance, you stupid bitch. Where the fuck are the zodiac keys?"

Lucy stifled her giggles at the look in his eye. She should be terrified, but she settled for amused and snarky. She wouldn't give him the satisfaction of seeing her frightened. Not anymore.

"I've got nothing to lose, you simpering sexless sleazebag. I'm not telling you shit." Erik would be proud, she was sure.

Alec sneered at her, "Oh, I'll show you how much you have to lose," he said calmly, and he gestured for Bruno to hand him the sword he'd left on the ground.

Lucy simply stared up at him. Unmoving. Seemingly uncaring, even as blood from the previous cut to her nose started falling down her face. It's not like she had anything to live for anyway, with half her family gone.

Alec lowered the sword to her upper body, quickly slicing the jacket off her body without caring for the flesh he cut underneath it. She whimpered when the blade sliced into her arms, but made no other outward indication of her pain. That pissed Alex off more.

Terra, pull that useless cloth from her. I want to see her bleed freely," Alec spoke, gesturing to the remains of Lucy's shredded jacket and the upper part of her cropped high-necked tank top. He left her chest covered, at least he didn't seem to be some kind of pervert. He just wanted to watch her bleed. Lucy found it odd that she was thankful to someone for only being interested in torture, but she shrugged it off. This really seemed to be the way her life was always going to be (especially as it was likely to end soon).

"Where are the Zodiac Keys?"

Lucy, in her infinite wisdom, decided the best answer for this was to stick out her tongue. Like a child.

Alec scowled at her once more, and slashed at her face. Lucy was lucky enough to have pulled her tongue back in her mouth, but that's really where her luck ended. The sword sliced through her left eye and all the way through to split the left side of her upper lip. She gasped out in pain, screaming as the anguish in her left eye made her whole body seize up and squirm. All thought left her brain as she struggled against her bindings, trying desperately to clutch at her eye, to ease the pain. Anything.

She felt more than saw Alec moving away from her and toward his subordinates. Nothing really made sense to her, she was utterly incapable of paying attention to her surroundings, so thoroughly consumed by her pain that the rest of the world was mostly faded away. She wasn't really even sure if she was still alive, would have believed she'd died and gone to hell, if not for the feeling of those same earthen shackles tightening on her wrists, another band snaking around her torso to further restrict her movement.

'_Oh what now…' _she thought to herself in despair. She knew he'd cause more pain than she could imagine, she just, you know, couldn't imagine how bad it would be.

"...Lucy… Heartfilia… Tel-..."

She heard… Bruno, maybe? Speaking to her but she couldn't process the words. The pain apparently took more brain power to process than she had available.

Some time passed, she couldn't tell you how much, but eventually the pain in her face was dulled just enough to hear once more. And feel, as she was brought out of her state of near-unconsciousness by the pain of someone stomping harshly on her lower leg with enough force to snap bones. She screamed again, unable to really do anything else, but the pain this time seemed to bring her back into focus rather than send her brain into a fog. She would have done most anything to just pass out at this point, but it seemed her captors had other ideas.

"Heartfilia!" it was Alec again.

"Heartfilia, where are the zodiac keys?!" he shouted at her. He was running out of time and he knew it, but he wasn't sure if she'd survive the travel it would take to get to another safe location. Really, it was unfortunate, but she'd pushed him too far for him to hold back, so they would have to just have to go with "Plan B" for breaking the bloodline curse, which involved a much more complicated process but was still doable. But he couldn't do _anything _without those fucking keys!

"I'll only ask this once more before I do something about your silence, Lucy… Where are the keys?!"

"REQUIP!" Lucy shouted. She was in a complete delirium, but the moment the word fell from her lips her whole being refocused on what was happening in front of her. '_Oh… Oh no…' _she most definitely did not mean to tell them that the keys were in her requip space.

Terra and Bruno's first thoughts upon hearing her shout were to look around for the famed "Titania", the world's strongest known requip mage and known member of Fairy Tail. Their second thoughts were wondering why the blonde mage being tortured by their leader tried to requip when she was obviously out of magic.

Alec was a bit smarter than them. He caught on to the slip immediately, and the grin spreading slowly on his face drew confused stares from his minions.

Looking at his team, grin still in place, he just shook his head, "... you idiots. She's not _trying _to requip anything. She's answering my question," he stated with a satisfied smirk.

Terra arched a brow when she finally understood what was happening. Bruno frowned, seemingly still confused. Both his teammates ignored him.

"How are you going to get them if they are in requip storage, Leader? She's clearly out of magic, she can't call them. Do we just kill her?"

Alec merely shook his head, "No, killing her isn't an option at this point. Magical or Requip Magics are based on a dimension specific to an individual wizard. When requip mages die, unless they've set specific magical rules in place cemented by lacrima in their storage space, the items appear at random throughout earthland. If that were the case it could take years to retrieve them all again."

Bruno, who had finally caught on, chimed in, "Celestial keys though, those are valuable. And she clearly has them 'under her protection'. I'd bet she has lacrima-powered runes to direct the keys in the event of her death so they go to someone she trusts."

"There's no guarantee of that. Even still, we wouldn't know where she'd set them to appear, and trying to get her to tell us that would be like asking her for her permission to kill her. She'd never tell us. Best course of action is to get her to requip them. Restore some of her magic, maybe?" Terra pointed out.

Alec got a sadistic gleam in his eye, and addressed Terra, "I think you underestimate my ability to make her beg for death, my dear," he cackled, "Though, you do have a point. The easiest course of action would be to restore a small amount of magic and… _convince… _her to requip the keys here. Then we even still have a chance that she would survive long enough to lift the curse like we originally planned."

Bruno just nodded, and approached the blonde mage who looked very, _very _near death and for the first time since they'd begun her torture, she looked terrified. She clearly hadn't meant to reveal her requip ability - and honestly it was pretty rare for a young mage like her to have the ability to perform more than one type of magic - and she was scared for her keys. He couldn't help but admire her, a _tiny bit, _for caring more for her spirits than for her own pain. It was a rare thing to see selflessness like that.

Either way, though, it was their duty to break this curse her damn mother had placed on them, and he wasn't going to back down any time soon. He kneeled down next to her, placing a hand on her chest, just under her collarbone, with the other resting on her abdomen. Magic circles appeared on his hands and he used his wind magic to direct his magic power into her containers, to provide her just enough magic to stop the progression of the magic deficiency damage on her body, and give her just enough extra to be able to requip her keys. She was still very much immobilized, so they weren't overly concerned about her spirits coming to her aid, but still, with how massive her magical containers were, it was more magic than Bruno could comfortably give out, and when he finished he slumped onto his backside and scooted out of the way, too exhausted to stand up and walk.

Terra helped him out, dragging him a few steps away to give Alec room to work.

"So Lucy," Alec began, "that handy little requip ability you've gotten for yourself. Why don't you show me how it works?"

Lucy whimpered. This was not good. Though her body felt less like lead, and she had some magic power, she was still very injured. And couldn't walk. She'd been training the last two years, but that didn't seem to be making a difference, and even if she wanted to fight back with the magic power she'd been given, she didn't have enough magic for a summon without sending her right back into depletion. She only had enough to requip, and that was not an option. That's what they wanted.

Alec stepped closer to her, ready to punish her for her lack of response, but was met with a fist of light to the face instead. Apparently they hadn't quite understood that the leader of the Zodiac could summon himself if he had any kind of solid anchor on Earthland, and hadn't prepared for that.

He was still weakened from expending so much magic guarding Makarov earlier, but he was going to protect his mage as much as possible. He still owed her his life, after all.

Alec was surprised, and got hit with several Regulus punches before he fully realized what was happening. Once he recovered, though, he quickly started attacking back, forcing Loke away from Lucy's broken form and trading blow for blow. Bruno wasn't in any shape to fight and Terra was still injured, so they stayed back from the fight, only planning on jumping in if Alec needed help. Though, it didn't look like he was having much trouble, the celestial spirit was running low on energy trying to dodge sword strokes and jabs.

"LOKE!"

Loke, still engaged in his fight, answered his master's call, "I'll protect you, Lucy, I will! Just hold on!"

"No!" Loke, blocking a sword thrust with his light-infused hands, glanced toward Lucy with sadness in his eyes. Everyone was focused on Loke, they didn't even turn to observe the injured celestial mage in favor of watching the lion fight fiercely for his keyholder.

"Don't do this to me, Princess… Don't make me leave you here…" he said brokenly, still fighting. Alec seemed amused, if a bit irritated, and being the more focused of the two fighters, caught Loke's shoulder with his weapon. Gold sparks floated from the wound, but it wasn't bad enough to force him back to the celestial world.

"Loke," Lucy cried out, eyes watery but her tone commanding, "Leave me. I'm done for. As your master, I order you to leave."

Loke, despite being the leader of the Zodiac, despite being here on his own power, was still a celestial spirit, and promises meant just as much to him as they did to her. He couldn't disobey a direct order…

"Princess…" he cried out, throwing one last punch at Alec and forcing him back a few steps, "Please… Don't do this…."

"GO! NOW!"

And go he did, disappearing with tears in his eyes.

Alec turned to refocus on Lucy, narrowing his eyes at her. He wasn't really sure how she kept summoning the leader of the Zodiac without requipping his key, but it was starting to get on his nerves.

"Now, about those keys…" he started again, only to blink in surprise when she grinned despite the pain it caused her injured lip and the Earth seemed to open up beneath her and swallow her whole.


	8. Chapter 8

**I do not own Fairy Tail or Desna's Pradesh Family.**

**Rate and review, please! :)**

"Oh, Virgo, thankyousomuch!" Lucy cried in relief, crushing said spirit into a hug as she sat up in the deep tunnel the spirit had hastily dragged her into. Only to stop the embrace quickly when her injuries reminded her of her presence. She hissed in pain and clutched her ribs.

Though the darkness of the spirit-made cavern didn't allow for Lucy to see anything, she imagined Virgo doing some attempt at a bow in the cramped area as she heard her stoic voice, "You're welcome, Princess. Will you punish me for not coming sooner?"

"No, no… Virgo you came just in time. I was so worried they'd get your key when I requipped it. I'm so sorry for risking you like that!" Lucy apologized profusely. She felt terrible for doing it but connecting to Virgo's key so she could come out on her own power was the only thing she could think of. Not only to save herself, but she had to get Master help quickly…

"Master…" Lucy whispered in horror.

Her pulse jumped, and she fought for breath past the pain of what she knew were broken ribs, frantically grasping Virgo's arms and shaking her vigorously (which, in all reality, was pretty pathetic. Her strength was basically non-existent.

"Shit, Virgo. Master. We need to get him out. Who knows what they'll do to him now that I'm gone! I know he said he couldn't lie to me but I don't trust that! What if he _was _lying, it's not like bad guys are known for their freaking honest, holy shit, we have to go back. Virgo, where are we? How long have we been gone. Do you think-"

"Princess!" Virgo shouted, even going so far as to clamp a hand over Lucy's mouth to stop her incessant ranting. She pulled back quickly once Lucy whimpered in pain - she'd disturbed the horribly painful injury on Lucy's face.

"I apologize, Princess. Please punish me, but I took the liberty of moving Master Makarov before I got to you. It is why it took so long to save you." Virgo said, grimacing at the thought of having caused her keyholder pain.

Lucy nearly collapsed in relief. Finally taking a moment to really breathe and process the situation. It had been one hell of a day and she just needed to stop and think.

'_So, the facts…' _she thought to herself, trying to sort through the information she'd gathered through the haze adrenaline, fear, and despair she'd been in for the last several hours.

First, some random ass dark guild that called themselves "Fallen Star" (she snorted internally. Not only was it a stupid name for a guild, she took offense to anything referencing her beloved night sky when it didn't deserve to. She'd make them pay for that, too) attacked Fairy Tail, at their most vulnerable time, to kidnap her. Not exactly an original plot, but them having inside information was fucking unacceptable (oh, she'd definitely figure out who is behind _that _particular issue). They'd… They'd _killed _her nakama… (she sobbed, cursing her injured ribs when it caused her to nearly black out) … they'd _killed _her team… Her _Natsu… (_despair washed over her very being. She fought through the pain. She couldn't just give up. She owed it to her lost friends to make the bastards pay for what they'd done) just to get back at her mom for something obviously _years _in the past? Hell, they'd killed their own goddamn _teammate _just to accomplish it…

And there was this stupid curse they kept mentioning, something to do with her mom? They needed her as a sacrifice (though, clearly, they had to have a backup plan for that. The state her body was in told her that her staying alive had dropped a few pegs on their priority list). But they'd definitely _mentioned _sacrificing her at one point… Before Makarov came storming in-

Wait.

Master Makarov.

One, he needed medical attention. _Now._

Two, he wasn't in the guild hall when she was taken. And yet, he came looking for her. _Holy shit. _Happy got to him!

She found herself suddenly overwhelmed with hope. If Happy and Romeo made it to the camp, and Makarov made it here…. Yes! That had to be right! The rest of her family had made it home!

She practically wrestled with the side of her consciousness that wanted to hope that Natsu, Mira, and all the others had been saved. She didn't want to get her hopes up, she really was _rarely _'Lucky' Lucy Heartfilia, but her stupid heart couldn't seem to let go of the idea that maybe, just _maybe, _half her family wasn't lying dead.

Lucy brought her fist to her mouth and bit at her knuckle. She couldn't sit on her ass anymore, she had to get moving or everything her spirits had done to help her would be for nothing. The pain radiating through the cut on her face and from the teeth digging into her knuckle brought her out of her thoughts.

She looked up into the expectant face of her faithful maid spirit. Thankfully, her eye (she wasn't really even sure at this point if she had more than one…) had adjusted just enough to make out her features, "Princess?"

Lucy did a poor impression of a smile - really, who would have thought just making fucking facial expressions would be this hard? - and addressed her spirit, "I can feel you, Virgo. I know you don't have much time left that you can hold yourself out here, and I don't have any magic to spare. I need you to- Fuck!"

Lucy was cut off as she felt the earth around her shift. Ever since she'd connected to Virgo's Star Dress, she was able to feel the changes in the ground and earth around her more keenly even when she wasn't using magic. Suddenly, she remembered one pretty significant detail about the fight earlier that she'd completely forgotten about.

"Virgo, Shoeless was a fucking earth-make mage! Where are we?"

The pink-haired spirit narrowed her eyes at a spot above her, "I shall take care of it, Princess. We are still technically in the clearing, just below it. Very far below it, though she shouldn't be a problem for me to-"

"No, Virgo," Lucy stated calmly, "I need you to help Master. You don't have enough magic to take on a strong mage and still get Master and I to safety, and we both know it,"

Virgo looked down, her stoic expression fading to one of almost… shame.

"Don't do that. You've helped me more than you could possible know. But now I need you to help Makarov."

Lucy could tell that her attentive spirit was about to protest, but cut her off, "Virgo, please. _Please. _Master will die without help soon, and they will most definitely find me and get me out of the ground, and we know that I still have things they want. Master is a sitting duck out there and if they find him who knows what will happen? No. I won't let that happen, not after everything he's done for me."

Lucy forced her sluggish stores of magic to cooperate, and requipped Capricorn's key. He was the only other spirit that could appear on his own power.

Virgo, seeing what her master was doing, quickly expanded their little pocket of earth to accommodate the large goat spirit. As soon as there was enough space, golden light illuminated the area as Capricorn appeared at Virgo's side with a bow.

"Lady Lucy," he greeted formally. He and all of Lucy's other spirits had been watching from the celestial world, extremely worried and hoping against hope that she would survive. As such, he knew she was about to take a huge risk with her own life and he hated it. He understood it, but he hated it.

"Capricorn," Lucy sighed out, "Thank you for coming."

The goat spirit simply nodded at her sadly, "I will always come when you require my assistance, Lady Lucy. Until your last day…"

Silence hung in the air briefly as all three tried to ignore the fact that her _last day _may very well be _this day._

"Right!" Lucy started once more in a cheery voice that was obviously false, and still a bit clipped as her ribs were actively trying to kill her, "So, here's the plan-"

"You would like Virgo to tunnel me to Master Makarov, then tunnel us both as far from the clearing as possible before she runs out of magic, then pull us up to the surface. You'd like me to then take Makarov to the guild for healing as quickly as possible, and if you are still living at that point, you would like me to send a group here to assist you. Is that correct?"

Lucy smiled at her close friend. "Yes. Though, please, don't tell anyone what has happened here. I don't need them worried. And if you get the chance to send help," she cleared her throat, "If you get the chance, please. Talk only to Laxus. I don't know who to trust, apart from him."

Both spirits nodded at her, but didn't move.

Movement in the earth to their left caught the attention of Virgo and Lucy.

"Go, now… and thank you. I love you both," She said, frantic as she felt the earth-make mage getting closer.

Capricorn and Virgo patted her head lightly before departing so quickly her eyes didn't catch the movement. Virgo had closed the tunnel she made behind her, ensuring they wouldn't be followed as they went on their mission to save the Master of Fairy Tail.

Lucy had only moments to spare as she quickly stored both Virgo and Capricorn's keys the only place she could think to hide them, as she needed to be in contact with them for them to be on Earthland… her cleavage.

At least that bastard Alec seemed to value keeping her private bits, well… private. Thank Mavis for small favors.

* * *

"That was pretty clever, Heartfilia," Alec said, punctuating his statement with another kick to her injured ribs. Lucy wasn't even sure it was fair to call them broken at this point. She was sure _shattered _was the more accurate descriptor.

'_Why didn't I escape when I had the chance, again…?' _she spoke to herself internally.

She wasn't expecting an answer.

'_Because, my dear Princess,' _a broken voice sounded in her head, '_You're too selfless for your own good, and you chose to save Makarov instead of yourself.'_

….. Wait. What the fuck?

'_Loke?! What the fuck?'_

Lucy screamed out in pain as another painful blow landed on her person. This time it was her broken leg, at least she thought so. The pain was radiating really everywhere, so it was getting hard to pinpoint.

She was pretty sure Alec had asked her to requip her keys again. She decided that her only response would be something bitter and antagonizing, and that a response such as that wouldn't result in anything good for her. Silence seemed the slightly less painful option.

"You stupid bitch! Terra, hold her down again, will you. We've got to step it up again, we are running out of time!"

Lucy smirked evilly to herself. She was certain her facial expression didn't change, as any movement of her facial muscles at the moment resulted in severe, debilitating pain, but the chibi-version of herself that lived in her brain was downright _smug. _Because while her plan to escape didn't actually result in her getting away, there was the unexpected, yet very happy (for Lucy) side effect that their poor earth-make mage was _drained. _There weren't many human mages alive that could work earth the way that Virgo could, and that bitch wasn't one of them. It cost her a hell of a lot of magic tunneling down again and again searching for Lucy, and then refilling the earth as they came back up empty handed. Virgo wasn't joking when she said they were very deep in the ground.

'_I am glad to see you can still see the bright side in the middle of all this horror, Princess. This new connection is rather cool, don't you think?' _Well, now she was certain it was Loke.

In the back of her mind, she acknowledged that Alec was doing something, once again, to cause her pain, but at this point she was so full of pain it was practically numb. She was half-dead, and so she retreated into her subconscious. If she was going to die, at least she could do it while conversing with her closest spirit.

'_What is this, Loke?' _Damn, even her mental voice sounded tired.

Loke's mental voice came back at her, extremely emotional but she could tell he tried to hide it, '_It seems our contract and our soul-link has strengthened to the point of being able to communicate telepathically. Very few mages have reached that level of trust with any spirit, and normally it requires constant power to maintain, so even fewer have had the power to maintain such a connection for long.'_

Lucy felt some kind of pain happening somewhere on her body. Vaguely, she wondered if it was an organ. Everything else had been hurting before, it stands to reason they'd moved on to her organs. At this point though, she didn't see anything around her - stuck in the back of her brain as her writer's mind conjured up a chibi-version of Loke to speak with her own chibi-version-mind-avatar Lucy. Alec's voice filtered through to her, but she honestly couldn't make out real words. Oh well.

'_Uh, Loke? I'm not really supplying power right now. Nor am I capable of doing so-Fuck!'_

Chibi-Mind-Avatar Loke flinched, as a pain sharp enough to get through Lucy's mental barriers hit her. Seemed he was back to hurting her face this time. Hopefully he was just hitting her, and not gouging out her injured eye. If it was still there. She really didn't want to try to pull off an eye patch.

'_Fuck… Okay… Breathe…. Okay. Anyway. Why isn't my power draining if it's supposed to cost something to speak with you like this?'_

Chibi-Loke gave a pained smile, '_Ah, well, you know how the King is. You know you're his favorite. He's supplying the power for this little chat. Since… You know…'_

'_Since it's likely our last conversation, you mean?'_

There was that flinch again. She heard what sounded like a sob coming from Loke. Her mental Chibi-Loke looked heartbroken.

Lucy was going to respond and try to comfort him, when suddenly she was pulled from her chibi-centric mind palace by a sudden, intense, white-hot pain in the left side of her abdomen.

"FUCK!" she yelled. She knew that one was out loud, based on the pain in her face from forming words.

"There you are. Thought we lost you for a moment. Listen, you stupid fucking blonde, this is your last chance. I'll fucking take my chances trying to find the keys later if you don't requip them _right fucking now_."

Ordinarily, Lucy would feel victorious at the defeated, angry look in her torturer's eye. Now though, she felt true fear, as while he was yelling his demands at her prone form, his sword was _literally _lodged halfway through her abdomen, shooting unbelievable levels of pain radiating through her whole body.

Fear or not, she wouldn't go quietly.

"I will never, ever, do what you're asking of me, you dumb as shit, cock-gobbling twat! Get that through you're pathetic fucking brain!"

She knew it was coming, but when the blade slowly inched forward in her body, she found herself wishing for death. The edges of her vision began swimming.

She didn't regret antagonizing the man. He wasn't going to do anything besides murder her at this point anyway, and pain? She could deal with pain. It might fucking kill her before he did, but she could deal with it. She did regret, just a little, that her poisonous, snarky as hell brother figure wouldn't get to hear her wonderfully colorful insults in the end.

"Guess that's that, then, Heartfilia," the man looked down at her disdainfully, though if she looked closely at him she could see hints of grudging admiration in his gaze, "I guess this technically means you win," he states coldly as he removes his sword from where it impaled her abdomen, and hovers it over her heart, underneath the exposed Mark of Aquarius resting on her collarbone.

'_Looks like Stache Face was right, Loke. Tell him thanks for me. Do me one more favor…?'_

'_Anything, Lucy,' _Loke's despairing voice rang in her head.

'_If you see Erik again, make sure to tell him how fucking witty I was today. He'll be so proud…"_

The last of Lucy's consciousness left her as she saw the sword begin its descent into her heart. She didn't hear Loke's choked mental laugh, nor his whispered, "I promise…"


	9. Chapter 9

**I do not own Fairy Tail or Desna's Pradesh Characters**

"Virgo…?"

Laxus' confused and somewhat strained voice reached the spirits ears just as she popped up from the ground with Makarov in tow. Said guild master was struggling in Capricorn's grip, weakly, but struggling just the same. He very much did not appreciate Lucy getting him sent away while she was still in danger.

"Master Laxus!" Virgo shouted, surprised. Which was rather odd, considering she was never surprised. She quickly bowed to him, "I'm quite sorry, Master Laxus, but I am afraid I have used all the magic I can at the moment. If you'll excuse me." She finished, vanishing in a flash of gold.

"Laxus? I am sorry, but Lady Lucy requested we return-"

"You put me down this instant, you stupid goat! I have to go back!"

"I am sorry, Master Makarov, I cannot allow-"

"I don't give a shit what you'll allow! Put me down right-" his efforts were admirable, but the poor man was magically drained and the poison flooding his veins was slowly eating away at his remaining strength.

"I will not, please stop. I must get you to the guild-"

"You'll do no such-"

"FUCK, SHUT THE HELL UP!"

Laxus's shout seemed to draw the attention of both the goat and the tiny old man. The former simply nodded apologetically, while the latter narrowed his gaze on his grandson.

"I'm going back for her."

"Fine, what the hell ever. Just drink this shit Porlyusica gave me. It'll clear the poison from your over-fucking-eager self since you took off without thinking shit through." Laxus responded, handing over the vial he'd received from the grumpy old healer.

Makarov took it and downed it instantly, and almost immediately could feel the difference as his strength started to return. He was still injured, burned in several places, but the heavy weight that had blanketed his magic began to lift. He kicked off of Capricorn's chest and landed somewhat gracelessly on the ground.

"Capricorn, right?"

Said goat nodded at Laxus's question.

"Where the hell is Blondie? Is she okay?"

Capricorn's shoulders slumped slightly, and Makarov's expression darkened, "That brat," Makarov began, "She sent her spirits along to help me, but she's still stuck back there with the enemy. Her spirits won't tell me, but what I have gathered is that her condition is very dire. We need to move."

"...Yes, that's correct. She's alive, but…" Capricorn's form started flickering, "...she doesn't have much longer. My connection to this realm is tenuous and fading. It is quite good that we ran into you, Laxus. I would not have made it to Magnolia with your grandfather under the current circumstances. Please," he pleaded, starting to fade, "hurry. You might have time to save her."

With that, Laxus growled. His kin was hurt, near death, and she had a chance to escape and didn't take it? Logically, he knew she was making a sacrifice to save his grandfather, a man like a father to the both of them, and the human part of his brain was somewhat grateful for that. The dragon raging inside him was _pissed._

"Fucking hell, Blondie," he muttered, and snatched his grandfather up by the charred remains of his cloak and started running to the direction Capricorn had indicated, "Alright, Gramps, here's the fucking deal. You're hurt, so stay the fuck out of it."

Makarov scrambled up his grandson's large form, perching on his shoulders as he continued to run. He wanted to protest, really he did, but he could feel his own body, and he wasn't stupid. Fighting right now wouldn't do anything but get him hurt.

"...Fine. I'll just focus on Lucy. I'm sure she has injuries that will need tending. But," he said sternly, patting Laxus firmly on his spiky blonde head, "If you look like you can't handle it I'm going to have to jump in."

"Yeah, whatever. Shut up, will ya? I'm trying to hear."

Laxus caught the scent of Lucy's blood before anything else, which was… let's just say, _concerning. _Sound usually travelled the farthest, and typically would be the first thing he'd pick up with his enhanced senses. She must be bleeding _a lot._

The next thing he noticed made him pale rapidly, and before Makarov could even ask he was thrown to the ground at the edge of the clearing he recognized as the same one he'd just escaped from, and Laxus was launching himself across the treeless space toward the man he'd come to know as Alec who was hovering over Lucy with a sword over her heart. She looked… awful. He'd been unconscious through most of what she'd been through, and he saw her injuries first hand for the first time.

Bruno, the big bulky, dirty-looking idiot, was near passed out several feet to their right near the line of trees that had been smouldering during his fight with Alec Cinder. Terra _was _passed out, and her breathing shallow, sitting next to him. It looked as though he was attempting some sort of healing…? No. No, he was a wind mage. He was likely guiding magic into his comrade's body to stave off magic deficiency. That was probably the same thing they'd done to Lucy, or she'd probably be dead already.

Alec hadn't noticed the intruders at all, and neither had his minions, so it was a huge shock to him that as soon as his sword pricked Lucy's skin he was tackled so hard he launched over her and the sword merely grazed her upper chest as it went flying with him. He landed rather uncomfortably several feet away, and he'd had the presence of mind to toss his sword aside so he didn't impale himself, so it lay just out of his reach. A heavy, hulking weight landed on top of him, and knocked the air out of his lungs.

Makarov didn't waste any time. He, true to his word, stayed out of the fight that was brewing between Laxus and Alec, as the latter seemed to heat up the area around him enough that Laxus bounced up and away and squared up to his opponent. Instead, Makarov sent a blast of (rather weak) light magic towards the two exhausted minions, effectively knocking them out and ensuring they wouldn't cause any additional trouble for the Dreyers as they executed their rescue mission. As soon as they were down, he sprinted to Lucy's side and took stock of the damage she'd taken and what she needed emergency aid for.

Kneeling at her side, he assessed her injuries as quickly as he could. Her left eye was… well, probably _gone, _but he couldn't tell through the blood streaking down her face and pooling in the socket where most people's eyes would be. The whole left side of her face was just a mess of red, so much so he couldn't tell the extent of the damage. He was reminded of the way Laxus had looked after getting a lacrima shoved in his skull, except Lucy somehow looked worse. Even still, despite how horrific it looked it was probably not the most pressing concern.

Her right lower leg was bent unnaturally, likely broken, and was so purple he was certain that the bone had clipped some kind of major blood vessel and she was bleeding far too much there. On top of that, her whole torso was bruised. Her upper body was exposed at her midriff like normal, but the top of her shirt had been cut away as well and he saw what appeared to be a tattoo on her collarbone he'd never noticed before. Come to think of it, she'd been wearing clothing that would hide that part of her body for longer than he could remember, now that he actually paid attention to it, but couldn't recall when it had started. He paid it no mind though, because Lucy needed medical attention quickly. Her pulse was fading.

Makarov poked and prodded at a few of the more severe bruises on Lucy's body, and determined that she most definitely had a broken rib or two. Likely internal bleeding there too.

'_This is bad…'_

The worst though, was the two-inch-wide gash in her abdomen that, from what he could tell, reached all the way through the blonde's body and pierced the ground, along with the gash on her upper chest that would have been a fatal stab wound if not for Laxus's intervention. Both wounds were bleeding heavily.

Makarov quickly pulled off his wizard saint cloak and tore it to pieces, bandaging what he could of her injuries to prevent her near immediate death.

Laxus was fighting Alec just a few feet away, but Makarov did his best to keep his attention on his injured child. Laxus, seeing this and seeing the state Lucy was in, did his best to draw the fighting away from the two most important people in his life.

Alec had quickly rolled toward his sword, picking it up and squaring himself to face his new enemy. When he finally had the chance to see his new attacker, he got a bit apprehensive. Laxus Dreyer had a reputation that very much preceded him. Alec was certain that he was the stronger mage, no doubt about that, but Alec had been torturing Lucy for quite some time. And had faced Makarov Dreyer, and equally reputable wizard, just before that. His magic was still rather high, but his body was a bit worn and from the glance to spared to his useless minions, it appeared they were very much going to live up to their description.

He shook his nerves off when Laxus spoke. He was clearly emotional, so Alec still had the upper hand.

"What the hell do you think you were doing to my little sister, you red headed creep?" Laxus asked, his whole body emitting electricity.

Alec only smirked, raising his sword and channeling heat through the blade until it turned a glowing red color, "You know," he started, "_little sister'_s insults were far superior to your own".

Laxus growled low in his throat and threw a punch at the cocky prick he was facing. Alec dodged, but not quite wide enough, as the electricity coating Laxus's arm shocked him briefly before he was able to roll to the side and face the mage once more. Launching an attack of his own, he threw himself forward and swung his overheated sword in a large arc toward the dragon slayer's torso. Laxus, not expecting him to recover so quickly, fell backwards and did a roll to get away at the last second. It was close enough that he felt the stinging burn of the heat of his sword across his chest.

He popped up and was once again dodging sword strikes from his opponent. He decided to take the battle a little longer range, to move away from the heat of the man's magic.

Laxus used his lightning body to move several paces away and behind the mage, and threw lightning from his fist at the man's back.

He heard Alec shout "Scorch Shot" and overheated red magic power met his own lightning to cancel it out. Or that's what Laxus imagined it would do, but the red power won out over his own yellow and pushed through just enough to throw Laxus back several meters and scorch his right sleeve at the shoulder, along with burn through part of his beloved coat.

Laxus narrowed his eyes at his opponent as he made it back to his feet. He loved that coat, damnit.

He grabbed the black fabric of his coat and tossed it off of himself, shouting at Alec, "What the hell do you even want with Fairy Tail?"

Alec simply scoffed at him, rolling his eyes, "What in the world would I want with Fairy Tail? No, Fallen Star is more powerful and far more fun than your stuffy _light guild, _there isn't anything we could possibly want from the likes of _you._"

Laxus paused briefly before releasing a powerful "Lightning Dragon's Roar" at the enemy. Alec blocked it with his heated sword, but was pushed back several yards in the grass.

Laxus thought on that a bit as the magic dissipated and the dust cleared. They were beginning to make a very large mess of the clearing. Scars littered the earth where attacks were unleashed, a few trees were downed, the heat from Alec's magic having ignited a few trees that were burning behind him.

"Why did you attack us if we don't have anything you want?" Laxus asked curiously, not dropping his guard but not attacking quite yet. If the battle so far was any indication, it might not go his way, so any information he can have Gramps overhear would be a good thing.

Alec saw Laxus's lack of offense as his invitation to throw attacks, and threw out another spell before he answered. "Burning Ash Destruction Wave!" he shouted.

Laxus's eyes widened as a wave of pure red magic power came crashing down around the clearing, literally taking on the image of a crashing wave headed his direction. He protected himself by sending out a field of his own magic power to encase his body in all directions. It took several minutes for the power to die down, and when the spell was complete, Laxus was surrounded by blackened earth and trees that weren't _burning, _per se, but instead were reduced to ash - skipping the fire step completely.

The lightning mage decided it was maybe to his advantage to take the fight back to close-range combat.

"Dreyer," Alec spoke as Laxus charged back toward him, closing the distance between the opponents, "Did you ever consider that I'm not after your _little sister _to rile up your pathetic little guild? Maybe it's just _her _that I'm after."

That one threw Laxus for a loop.

"Why?" he asked angrily, "What the _fuck _did Blondie do to you? Piss in your fucking Wheaties?" He followed that question with a rather aggressive "Lightning Dragon's Iron Fist" that pushed his opponent back a few feet.

Not letting the distance come back into play, Laxus used his lightning body to maneuver behind Alec once more, striking him again, this time with a lightning infused kick to the spine.

Alec was pushed forward and fell to his knees a few feet away, but when Laxus followed up with a second kick aimed at his head, he rolled and sliced the lighting mage's calf. Laxus bellowed in pain and stepped just far enough that he was out of reach, but close enough he could prevent any of his opponents' large attacks.

"Really, Laxus," Alec spoke, breathing labored only slightly, "It's none of your business. She's a Heartfilia, you're not, so no matter how much you proclaim she's your sister, the matter at hand does not pertain to you. Just let her go, she's mostly dead already!"

Growling once again, Laxus charged at the man, this time trying to land a "Lightning Dragon's Jaw" but was caught off guard by the sword piercing his shoulder. The bastard had thrown the damn thing!

Laxus took several steps back to buy himself time and quickly pulled the sword from his flesh, wincing as he did so. Blisters were already forming around the wound and around his hand, as even the handle was too hot to touch without consequence. Fuck that was painful. This battle was not going well. Alec clearly outmatched him in magic power, especially after Laxus had spent the entire previous night teleporting all over the fucking place, and now he was injured - limiting his ability to move properly. At least the wounds he'd suffered weren't bleeding, like Blondie's were. The heated blade cauterized his wounds. '_Thank Mavis for small favors,'_ he said to himself, frowning internally when he realized he'd picked that phrase up from the small blonde mage to his right.

Thinking of his fellow blonde had him worried. He'd not had the chance to check on her since the battle started.

Gathering magic power, he threw a powerful long range attack at Alec so he could glance at his grandfather and Lucy and check on them, "Lightning Dragon's Heavenward Halberd!"

Instead of watching the attack hit his opponent (or the more likely option, watching his opponent block or dodge) he immediately used his lightning body to return to his grandfather's side.

"Gramps, is she…?" he asked frantically, eyes locked back on the spot where his enemy was.

"I-I'm f-f-fine…" Lucy croaked out. Laxus opened his eyes wide in surprise and looked down at his kin. She was bandaged nearly head to toe, blood clearly soaking through in some places. Her left eye was covered with several layers of wizard-saint-cloak bandages, but there was no good way to wrap her lip, so the cut peeked out from below the bandages for several inches and was still bleeding, though not quite as quickly as when she'd first been cut. Frankly, she looked terrible. But she was alive and had enough magic that she was talking at least. She'd clearly lost a lot of blood but he had more hope now than when he'd arrived of her survival. At least now she was awake.

"Fuck Blondie… you look like shi-wait. Fuck. Where's Gramps?"

Despite the fact that the most easily identifiable expression on her face was overwhelming _pain, _Laxus caught that look she gave him that screamed, "are you really that fucking stupid?". It was a look he was quite used to seeing from her these days.

"You seriously didn't notice?" She asked him, nodding ever-so-slightly back toward where he'd just been battling, where his Gramps was standing, facing all three of the fucking assholes that attacked Fairy Tail, holding a glowing ball of light controlled between his two hands.

He didn't catch the words he spoke, but likely it was something along the lines of, "run for your fucking lives if you want to live," because moments later Alec paled and sprinted out of the clearing, his useless minions stumbling along behind him. Laxus found himself hoping they couldn't run fast, because he would just _love _to see their asses get hit with the Fairy Law spell that his grandfather was about to release.

"Well shit," Laxus said quietly.

As the light between Makarov's hands glowed brighter, Laxus crouched over his pseudo-sister's prone form and blocked her eyes (eye?) from the blinding light that emitted from the most powerful spell he'd ever heard of.


	10. Chapter 10

**I do not own Fairy Tail or the Pradesh Family**

"The…. the guild… who's still alive?"

Makarov, who had just stumbled to her side and kneeled across from Laxus after casting Fairy Law, paled. He'd gotten them all out of the hall but he really had no idea if they'd lost anyone. He left before he knew the answer, running after his missing child since he'd made all the others stay back.

He didn't answer her, instead turning his worried gaze to his grandson, raising an eyebrow in question.

Laxus looked at the both of them and quickly answered, "Everyone's fine. Seriously, as far as I could tell there were no casualties."

Lucy let go of a breath she didn't know she'd been holding, tears gathering in her eye as she was overcome with relief… Only to wince a second later as her relieved sigh aggravated her injured ribs and the wound where she'd been _impaled. _Fuck, she was not doing well.

'_Loke…?'_

'_I'm here, Princess!' _her mental thought was answered immediately, and she could hear the relief in his tone. For some reason, despite not being locked in her subconscious this time, she couldn't stop picturing his little chibi-form that her dying brain had come up with. It almost made her giggle, except that would have hurt worse and she knew it.

'_Thank you, Loke. Thank everyone for me. Especially Stache Face, for setting this up and powering it for us. I'll call you when… if I get better.'_

She didn't wait for his response, and she honestly assumed that Stache Face had stopped powering the connection. His interference in the human world, even in that small action, was blatant favoritism and he couldn't risk doing it often, and that was something she understood.

Lucy coughed, and cringed when the pain in her torso flared. The blood escaping her mouth wasn't such a good sign, either.

"Fuck…" she said to no one in particular.

"Yeah, Blondie, you're looking pretty fucking rough. We need to get back to the guild, _now._"

"Wait!" Lucy shouted, before Laxus had the chance to lift her from the ground.

"What could possibly be important enough to delay _saving your goddamn life?_" Laxus questioned, reaching to lift her off the ground anyway.

"I need to leave the guild."

That stopped him in his tracks, and Makarov paled considerably. "Why?"

Lucy cringed, but faced Master Makarov to answer his question, "Those assholes were after me. Not Fairy Tail. And until they are gone, I need to go into hiding. And I need to train," she gestured to her battered body, "clearly I'm not prepared to take them out on my own. You saw what happened at the guild! They are more than capable of hurting or killing mages I'm associated with to get to me, and I won't allow that to happen."

Laxus chimed in, "What's to stop them from going after us to find you, genius? Gods, this is a waste of time. Shut up so we can go-"

"LAXUS ANTONY DREYER, shut the hell up and listen to me!"

Laxus sealed his lips closed and scowled at his kin. Ever since the Grand Magic Games, they'd gotten closer. After Tartaros, his dragon demanded he claim her as kin, and he did, but more than that he and Gramps had both kind of… adopted her into the Dreyer family. None of them were really sure how it happened, but Christmas two years ago had found them all as the only people in the guild hall on the actual date of the holiday: Makarov and Laxus both using the much needed quiet time to do _paperwork, _and Lucy showing up because she honestly didn't have anywhere else to go. She's spent exactly ten minutes wallowing in the loneliness she felt before she marched into both of their offices and dragged them out by the hand to 'do something less fucking depressing on Christmas Day'. Ever since then, they'd been a little family inside the family that was Fairy Tail, much like the Strauss's. _Little Dreyer_ had been added to Lucy's long list of nicknames.

And unfortunately, since about a month after that incident, Lucy had learned of his middle name. And she used it shamelessly like a fucking weapon.

"If you didn't notice, _Antony,_" Why did he come to save her again?, "this dumbass guild had more information than should have been possible. There's got to be a spy or something in Fairy Tail - shut the fuck up, I know that sounds crazy but it's the only thing that makes sense! - _and, _Greasy fucking shouted my name out at the guild before Alec poisoned everyone. Probably trying to turn everyone against me so you all wouldn't come storming after me or some shit."

"I'm still not seeing your point, child," Makarov spoke gently.

"So, what I'm saying is, I shouldn't _leave _the guild. I should be _kicked out. _Let them think their little mind game worked, and use it against them. They'd have no reason to go after Fairy Tail."

Laxus only scowled further, "You don't know what it's like living as an outcast of the guild, Lucy. Don't sign yourself up for that. We can figure something else out."

Lucy coughed again, blood splattering on the remains of her dark shirt, and whimpered at the pain, "Fuck - No Laxus, Gramps, this-"

"Look, we can talk about this later. You _need _to get to Wendy or Chelia. Now."

"No. Listen. We have to set this in motion now. We can't have holes in our story, I need you both to convince everyone I'm a traitor. Please. I couldn't live with myself if Fairy Tail was attacked again. That guild member that died in the hall? _Alec _killed her. He fucking planned on it - part of his attack strategy. He made her a fucking bomb just to keep people from following him. This is the only way I can think of to - Fuck I hate coughing - the only way to keep everyone safe."

Laxus and Makarov both looked at her sadly, "No. It's not going to happen." It was Laxus who said it, but they both seemed to be in agreement.

"DAMN IT! I promise on my honor as a celestial mage, if you don't help me do this I will give you a _real _fucking reason to have me expelled, I swear."

Both looked at her in horror. If she didn't keep that promise she'd lose all her magic. Laxus, while he normally would just tell her she deserved it for trying to force them into doing something they disapproved of, couldn't bear to let that happen to her. Not only because he _knew _first-hand what it takes to get expelled. If she did that she'd never forgive herself, just like he still hadn't forgiven himself for Fantasia. He also couldn't let it happen because of this asshole guild. They were targeting _her. _If she didn't go through with it, she'd be a sitting duck. She'd likely die at their hands, and he couldn't allow that to happen. She was kin, she was his baby sister.

"Oh, fuck you, Blondie," Laxus said, venom lacing his tone. Putting them both in this position was cruel. And judging by the guilty look on her face, she knew it was.

Softly, she spoke, "I'm… I'm sorry for doing it this way. But this is the only way I'll get strong enough to defeat them, the only way I can keep the others safe. I already thought I'd lost them once, I couldn't bear doing it again…"

Makarov spoke up then, "Child," he said, then cleared his throat, "I am sorry you feel this is the only way. I will allow you to do this, but please, consider my conditions?"

Lucy was running out of energy, and fast. She needed to resolve this or they wouldn't have anything to talk about, she'd just be dead.

"What conditions, Gramps?"

"One - we will heal you at the guild. Not only that, but you must stay a minimum of three days."

"Three days. Okay, I can work with that," she stated weakly.

"Two - You'll keep a communication lacrima on you, and you will report to me each week on your progress."

Lucy sighed, "I guess that's fine, but I'll need to be able to report to you or Laxus. One of you is off on council business all the time, it's the only way I'll be able to keep my promise of weekly calls."

Makarov waived dismissively, "Yes, yes, of course. And we will be discreet when taking calls from you, not to worry".

Blinking slowly, Lucy called out weakly, "Anything else, Master?"

"Ah, yes. Three and Four. You will call us for backup when you are ready to move in on Fallen Star, and you will meet Gildarts after you depart for training. If you want to get stronger, you'll need his help, and I won't have you out there alone."

She wanted to protest, but was fading fast. Gildarts was practically away from the guild on a constant basis anyway, so it's unlikely anyone would be suspicious of his not being around.

"Fine… Lax?"

Laxus, who'd been grumbling and whining about the prospect of her leaving on her own, glared down at her, "Yeah?".

"I… I-uhh… I think we waited too long. Tele...port…?"

"FUCK! Stupid fucking blonde, damnit!" he shouted, picking her up as quickly and gently as he could, directing his grandfather to hold on to him before teleporting back to the guild hall despite his worry that his lightning may hurt her in her injured state.

* * *

"If you guys have the rest handled, I think we have to get home," A sad voice called out to the members of Fairy Tail who were up and moving and finishing up the last of repairs. They'd all been working all afternoon to restock the bar, restock the infirmary (Mira had doubled every supply they had in there in her worry for the master and Lucy), clean every surface, and fix the parts of the floor that had been torn up by the intruder's magic.

"We can take it from here, take Asuka home," Jellal replied to Bisca, the wizard who'd spoken earlier. She looked upset that she couldn't stay until Lucy returned, but when she looked at the exhausted form of her 10-year-old, she knew she couldn't delay any more. She gestured to her husband and he grabbed his daughter by the hand and pulled her toward the door and away from the group of exceeds she was quietly huddling with.

"Thank you, Jellal. Wendy, will you let us know when Lucy returns?"

The young blue-haired teen shook her head, much to Bisca's surprise. She smiled almost embarrassed, "You need your sleep. Knowing if she okay won't change anything. Just get some rest and come back in the morning!"

Leave it to the young healer to use logic, Bisca thought, but nodded. She wasn't wrong. Turning on her heel, she walked out of the guild hall and joined hands with her husband. She called back, "One of us will be here bright and early!" as they both took off at a sluggish pace towards their home, walking towards the rapidly setting sun.

Jellal looked to their day's handiwork, thinking they'd made great progress, but worrying nonetheless. It had been far too long since Laxus had chased after Master and Lucy. A full day had passed and containing Natsu, Erza, and Gray now that they'd woken up was a nightmare. Thank goodness for Freed and his runes.

After a day of hard work from mostly the entire guild, plus Chelia, the only evidence that there had been a fight in here at all was the charred spots in the ceiling that wouldn't go away with a good scrub. Those would, unfortunately, need to be replaced entirely. Every other surface had been wiped clean with a powerful cleansing herbal potion that Porlyusica had made, removing any slight hint of poison from the hall. The process left the building basically spotless (something that only happened once every few years when they had to rebuild the structure from the ground up), and the entire area smelled of fresh herbs. They'd been able to fix a lot of the broken furniture, Laki's wood-maker magic coming in handy as always.

Wendy, Porlyusica, Chelia, and Gajeel were "discharging" patients from the cots along the entrance. Most people were fully healed but needed adequate rest to recover, so they were being sent home with a few words of instruction from the older healer on how long they were required to stay in bed, what they should be eating, and how they'd meet an unfortunate end if she caught them sneaking into the guild to drink before she told them they could. Wendy was passing out bags of dried herbs to the patients as they left that would help their recovery while Chelia checked them over with magic once more (since Wendy's magic was dangerously low), and Gajeel seemed to be in charge of helping each person stand (though he really could have been more gentle).

Levy, Jet, Droy, Bickslow and Mest were picking up the cots, blankets, and food trays and toting them to a storage area under the guild, certain they'd come in handy in the future. Romeo was helping his father from his cot and dragging him away slowly toward their house as the dark haired older man stumbled along with his arm slung over his son's shoulders. Wakaba and Nab had already left, as had most of the rest of the injured members. The only person who Porlyusica had insisted stay at the guild for observation was Mira, who had still yet to wake after receiving treatment. Elfman, Lisanna, and Evergreen had carefully taken her up to the infirmary just a few minutes before and they'd been sitting with her, as they'd not reappeared after taking her up.

Cana had decided to actually tend the bar for once, instead of just drinking it. She was working on filling the newly-cleaned shelves with new liquor to replace the broken bottles that had littered the place when they'd first entered. Though, with every bottle she placed on the shelf, she could be seen opening it, taking a swig and mumbling "Gotta test it. Can't serve bad booze," before actually putting the spirits away. Even with the alcohol, her brows were knit in concern and she kept glancing at the door. Jellal was sure she was drinking as much out of habit as she was just trying to relax her nerves while she waited for her friend to return. As the sun fell farther past the horizon and the outdoors became increasingly dark, she became increasingly agitated.

The exceeds were all huddled in a corner, Carla and Pantherlily trying to console a sobbing Happy, who despite having been crying _all day long _still managed to let tears escape. Carla found herself wondering if eventually his whole body would just run out of water. Natsu would normally be able to comfort him, but the pink haired dragon slayer was so agitated that he was throwing himself against Freed's runes repeatedly trying to escape their confines. He was clearly too busy to comfort his feline friend at the moment.

Poor Freed was looking exhausted as he sat nearby, maintaining the enchantment as he continually threw power at it.

Porlyusica was about to step up to the runes to lecture the still-recovering man, but found there was no need as they all heard a loud clap of thunder hit the ground right outside the guild hall doors (well - where the doors would _normally _be - they hadn't gotten around to fixing them yet). Natsu stilled completely, and Gray and Erza both stood from their seated positions to stand next to him, eyes fixated at the entrance to the guild hall, fists clenched at their sides.

Makarov was the first in the door, followed quickly by Laxus' as he followed clutching something close to his chest as liquid dripped off of it.

No, wait.

Not something. Some_one. Lucy…_

"We need a healer, now!"


	11. Chapter 11

**I do not own Fairy Tail or Desna's Pradesh Family. **

**Thanks for reading! Please rate and review!**

**FYI - if you followed the original story, we are getting closer to new content! Yay! Thanks for sticking with me through the rewrite!**

Hours. It had been hours since the guild's resident celestial wizard and the widely-known Light of Fairy Tail had been carried through the doors, unmoving. It had been hours since Natsu watched as his Lucy was rushed through the hall to the infirmary. Hours since he'd seen her blood fall to the ground in a crimson, spattered path leading to the closed door at the back of the hall. The same path that was now lit by the late morning sun, drying and untouched.

Hours since anyone had spoken at all.

Silence permeated the air in the guild building just as surely as poison had permeated it hours before, like a heavy blanket on a summer night. Oppressive and unbearable. At least Natsu thought so. Any crying, even from Happy, was done silently. Anyone falling to exhaustion did so with little movement and not a sound. Those that had felt the need to return to their homes to await news had left without a word, heads down and fists clenched. Even the kids, rambunctious and untamable, had not spoken. Not even a whisper. He felt like if someone didn't speak up soon he may explode.

Despite that, though, he found any attempt at speaking - hell, even making a sound, crying, wailing, moving at all - was impossible. His body, traitorous thing it was, absolutely refused to allow him any respite from the crushing, all-consuming _stillness _that he was surrounded by.

It was torturous.

Actually, torture may have been preferred. He'd never been overly concerned about his own physical pain.

The infirmary door opening, quiet though it was, pulled Natsu from his internal anguish and waking the slumbering mages. Not that many had succumbed to sleep at all, but there were a few. Every member's attention snapped to the source of the sound, only to see their small guild master exiting the infirmary, his sharp gaze sweeping over his children.

"Freed," he said quietly, but sternly, as his eyes locked onto the rune wizard.

The green-haired male stood abruptly from his spot at the Thunder Legion's normal table, posture stiff and eyes red. Lucy was a friend, and Mira was his love, and both were out of his reach.

"Master," Freed acknowledged. His voice was hoarse from disuse, but held a questioning tone.

"I know you're magic power has been strained, but if possible, I need you to place runes on the infirmary."

Freed was itching to ask why, but Bickslow stood next to him and placed a hand on his shoulder, telling him without words that he shouldn't question the Master here. They were both aware of the potential threat to the guild from the inside - they'd been the ones to retrieve the children, after all - and speaking openly about Makarov's concerns with everyone listening wouldn't do them any favors. Freed nodded to his visored friend, stepping away from the table and approaching the short old man.

Freed took a tired but rigid stance in front of the infirmary door, doing what he could to ignore the sounds of coming from beyond it as Porlyusica seemingly shouted at the room's occupants. The rune mage looked questioningly at Makarov, waiting for instruction.

"No one can enter the infirmary, apart from Chelia, Porlyusica, Laxus, and myself."

A flick of his wrist and a flash of purple later, Freed nodded, indicating the rule was set.

"Ensure that no magic or physical attacks can enter or leave the barrier."

Another flash of purple.

"Lucy Heartfilia may not leave the barrier under any circumstances."

Freed's eyes widened, then narrowed - just as Natsu, Gajeel, and Wendy's did - but he complied after a moment's hesitation.

"The rules have been established, Master. I suggest tethering the runes to a lacrima to maintain the barrier despite my dwindling magical reserves. My apologies, but I fear my magic is nearing its limit." Freed sheathed his sword once more and took a step back from the door.

"I'll ask you to maintain it for a few more minutes, Freed. We can place the necessary lacrima after we speak in my office."

Before the green-haired mage could question him further, Makarov shouted for a few other members of the guild and, without waiting to see if they were following him, he turned on his heel and made his way up the stairs to his office.

Makarov climbed, rather ungracefully, onto his desk and sat cross-legged on the one clear space on the rather disorganized desk, and waited for the mages he'd called to join him.

Cana was the first in the door, having been standing by the bar, followed closely by Freed and Bickslow. Freed moved toward the back of the office while Cana and Bickslow took either end of the couch to the left of the desk. Wendy followed shortly after and took the center cushion of the same couch, a confused look in her eyes.

Natsu, Gray, and Erza followed in shortly after, for once not arguing. Makarov would normally be grateful for that, but not under the current circumstances. He could tell Natsu was angry, though, a sign that the conversation to come was not going to be an easy one. Not that he expected it to be, regardless.

Makarov took a deep breath and sighed heavily as he watched the last few members stumble in.

Juvia and Jellal walked in just as Team Natsu was settling in on the right side couch, Natsu closest to Makarov's desk and Erza in the middle. The water mage settled next to Gray, perching herself on his armrest as Jellal sat in a mirrored position next to Natsu. Gajeel entered, holding a shaking - and still silently crying - Levy tucked under his arm. The former walked quickly toward Cana, squeezing in between her and Wendy, while the latter leaned against the wall just past the door.

"Do you require silencing runes, Master?"

Makarov shook his head at the exhausted looking rune mage, "Not yet, Freed. Others will be along in a moment."

As he finished speaking, Laxus entered the room with Mira's arm draped across his shoulders and the demon takeover mage looking better, but still requiring some assistance in walking. Laxus leaned her against the wall next to a frantic looking Freed, who instantly hugged her close (propriety be damned) and ran his hands through her hair as if reassuring himself she was really there.

"I'm fine, Freed. Honestly," Mira reassured weakly. He reluctantly pulled back, placing hands on either side of her face and looking in her eyes.

"Are you sure?"

Mira gave a watery smile, her blue eyes showing lingering sadness, but she responded anyway, "I am".

Master Makarov cleared his throat, looking at Freed, who dropped his hands and immediately threw up silencing runes and leaned back against the wall and allowing Mira to use him as support.

"Why the hell is Luce not allowed to leave the infirmary?!"

And there it is. Makarov knew Natsu would be the first to speak up.

Laxus was the one to sigh, though, as he leaned against the front of his grandather's desk and crossed his arms over his massive chest, "Some of you know this, some of you don't, but here's the situation as we know it right now-"

"That's not what I asked!"

"Natsu, shut the hell up. No more interruptions, we have shit to tell you," Laxus glared down at his fellow dragon slayer. He knew what the kid was going through and how fucking confused he had to be, but honestly this conversation would be hard enough without his constant interjections.

Natsu glared, and he started steaming a bit - Jellal and Erza both scooted a few inches away from him - but otherwise held his tongue. He crossed his arms and legs and looked pointedly at the blonde towering over him.

Laxus took that as an agreement, and continued, "Two nights ago, the guild hall was targeted by four members of a dark guild known as Fallen Star, at a time when the majority of Fairy Tail's top members were away from Magnolia for the randomly scheduled S-Class Trials."

The guild members all nodded, apart from Natsu who seemed to be waiting for someone to get to the point.

Makarov continued, "From what we can tell, the following happened during the attack: three members breached the front entrance of the hall and engaged the top three wizards present at the time - Natsu, Mirajane, and Lucy - with support from the remaining guild members. Lucy, before engaging personally, sent the children with Max to the East Forest, claiming she would also have her spirit Virgo escort them."

The mages around the room started showing signs of agitation. Levy was biting her lip and glaring at both Dreyers in front of her, Team Natsu - who had been calm (besides their namesake, he was never calm) - were narrowing their eyes. The other dragon slayers were behaving similarly. By the way they were talking, it almost sounded like they didn't trust Lucy.

Laxus picked up on the tension in the room and decided that the next part might go over better with the slayers if it came from him, one of her Kin. He spoke up once again, "Shortly after Max and the kids left the tunnel Virgo created for them, the spirit disappeared. Max was forced to guide the children to Porlyusica alone. Here in the guild hall around the same time, Lucy used one of the most powerful celestial spells ever known, but somehow managed not to fatally injure any of the enemy. Shortly after that, when no one was watching Lucy, a fourth member of the dark guild appeared and cast a sacrificial spell on their own teammate, effectively bombing the building with a poisonous gas, and Lucy was 'kidnapped' just before it went off - having been spared from the poison."

Surprisingly, it was Levy who stood up. She was shaking harder than ever and she had her head down as she walked to Laxus. And promptly smacked him across the face.

Laxus, for his part, didn't move. He kind of expected something like that. It was pretty obvious at this point that they hinting that Lucy was a traitor. He was just surprised a smack was all he got, and that it didn't come from one of Lucy's other dragon kin.

"You shut up…" Levy said lowly, raising her head to stare up at Laxus with a murderous glare, "Lucy would _never-_"

"Actually," a weak and sorrowful voice interrupted. Looking to the back of the room, everyone directed their attention to Mira, who had pushed off of a shocked and horrified Freed and taken a step toward Levy and the center of the room, "I-I was t-t-there…"

She swallowed thickly, "N-Natsu… you were too. You heard what… what that man said… as he was l-leaving, right?"

Natsu didn't look at her. He stared straight ahead, unmoving, but answered her all the same, "That doesn't mean anything…" he whispered. The room was quiet enough that everyone heard it.

Mira felt tears escape her eyes, "I'm so sorry, Natsu… B-but I think it does…." she was openly sobbing now, and Freed had come behind her to hold her around the waist gently, "He called her out by name, Natsu… And you heard them talk before everything started… there… there isn't any way they had the information they did unless it came from someone in the guild hall."

Gray stood up, fuming, "That doesn't mean shit!" he stalked toward an angry looking Laxus and Makarov, "It could have been anyone there! And why did she protect the guild kids?! Huh?! And why is she sitting in the infirmary right now _fighting for her fucking life?_"

Makarov stood then, exhausted, but he allowed his magic to swell anyway and he grew a few inches, standing just taller than Laxus while standing on top of his desk, "That's enough!"

Everyone backed off, returning to their seats, but they all looked angry. Gajeel looked ready to murder, Wendy looked royally pissed off, and Natsu… Natsu was despondent. He hadn't stopped staring straight in front of him, no doubt running through every second of what he remembered of the events.

"We aren't here to debate," Makarov addressed the group, "These are the facts as we know them. If the evidence weren't enough… Lucy told us herself that she was the one responsible. Her confession lines up with the facts as we know them. We have no reason to doubt this is the truth, and she has shown no remorse for her actions."

The was still. Silent. Just as it was only moments prior, before they all knew what had truly happened.

"Maybe they threatened-"

Makarov shook his head at Gajeel's protest, effectively cutting him off.

"This is what we know, from Lucy herself - Gray, you may want to listen, I am about to answer your questions so shut up," Makarov glared down at the Ice Demon Slayer. Gray grumbled, but quieted anyway, "Lucy is a member of Fallen Star-"

Chaos. Everyone started protesting, speaking at once, yelling about how it wasn't true. There wasn't a voice in the room that wasn't shouting - apart from Natsu, who wasn't speaking at all.

"QUIET!"

They quieted down at Laxus' shout.

"As I was saying," Makarov continued, "Lucy is a member of the guild that attacked our nakama, and the one who betrayed our information to said guild. She has been seeking information on Fairy Tail's secrets since before she arrived here with Natsu almost five years ago. As she has been here so long, and has yet to retrieve the information they were looking for, she and the other members of her guild decided to take more drastic action and stage an attack. She was told the main objective was to take the children hostage and use them as leverage to force us to release the information to them. That is why she sent them with a single mage to the East Forest, where she believed they would intercept them with little interference. According to Lucy, she only sent Happy and Romeo away to us with the pass phrase because during the assault, her comrades gave away too much information and she feared Natsu and Mira would become suspicious of her if she didn't seek help. She didn't intend for us to be close enough to save the poisoned guild mages."

The room was quiet, but every mage listening to the information had a similar look of despair on their faces. After all, Lucy was the _Light of Fairy Tail. _Incorruptible. Steadfast and honest, always-keeps-her-promises, Lucy Heartfilia.

Believing this was impossible, and yet, not even Levy or Freed could find a way to refute the master's explanation. Especially not with Lucy's confession.

"So what prevented the fiends from capturing the kids? And… A-and why is Lucy i-injured?" Erza, for the first time since entering the Master's office, questioned.

"A good question, and one I asked myself when we found her," Makarov stated sadly, "Lucy was lied to. Her guild," he took a second to swallow. Calling those bastards _Lucy's Guild _was really hard, considering everything they did to her. But his explanation was almost done, and he owed it to Lucy to lie for her so she could take on her mission. He'd given his word that he would, and he was so close to having said it all…

"What Gramps is trying to say," Laxus interjected, "Is _Heartfilia's _guild turned on her because she fucking failed. In their eyes, she failed for _twelve years _because of Tenrou, and her overall fucking weakness," Laxus was a little disturbed at how easily he fell into his asshole persona when he tried. He couldn't stand lying to his family, and couldn't stand letting Lucy walk into something so dangerous, but you wouldn't know that listening to him now, "When they staged the attack on us, they were writing the whole thing off as a bad job and getting rid of the loose ends. So instead of getting her out and kidnapping the kids like she thought they were going to do, the grabbed her, took her to the East forest, grilled her for information to make sure she hadn't 'gone native' and was holding out on them, and were going to kill her and move on to the next dumbass scheme they had in the works."

"We got there in time to drive them off-"

"Personally, I think we should've let 'em cut her fucking heart out," Laxus interrupted his Gramps with his signature scowl. He thought he might be sick at just the thought of what he'd said aloud, but he held himself in check.

Makarov shot a glare at his grandson, "Fairies don't kill," he said calmly, "even after a betrayal like this, we are the good guys, Laxus."

Laxus knew the reprimand wasn't real. Just like none of the garbage they were spewing was real, but it was working. The mages in front of him seemed at a loss. He knew they'd been convincing, but he was honestly a little disappointed in his nakama for doubting Lucy so easily. Sure, it all added up if you spun it that way, but it was fucking _Lucy. _How many times had she proven to be trustworthy?

He swallowed his anger, and just wrote it off as a good thing. They needed to buy into the lie if Fairy Tail was going to stay safe, and if Lucy was going to be safe while she took on this near-suicide mission alone. It was annoying that they so easily doubted her, but very necessary.

"Do you all have any questions?"

Makarov's words were unanswered. They all had things to say, of course, but none of them said it. No matter how they looked at it, Lucy was guilty. She'd even said so!

Gajeel scooped Levy up from where she was practically frozen, still standing in front of Laxus, and stormed out the door to the office and out of the hall entirely. Wendy stood next, walking slowly back down to Charle.

Gray said nothing more, but he seemed more confused, frustrated, than angry as he walked calmly out of the office.

One by one, they all followed suit, meandering out of the office to find somewhere to think. For some, likely to find something to punch.

Five minutes later, the only remaining guild member was Natsu, who hadn't moved. He hadn't even twitched, still staring blankly ahead of him.

Makarov gazed sadly at him, then nudged Laxus and nodded at the fire dragon slayer. Laxus scowled back.

In Laxus' opinion, of everyone there, the one person who should have believed in Blondie was Natsu. While Lucy was kin to him, to Wendy, and to Gajeel, even that bond seemed to pale in comparison to the bond Team StarFire shared. Which was saying something, considering how powerful a dragon's bond to its kin was. He should know her better than to believe this bullshit, and the fact he didn't was pissing him off.

Beyond that, Laxus was nearly one hundred percent positive that Lucy's main reason for killing the life she created at Fairy Tail to go after Fallen Star - alone and without support - was Natsu. Because the fire mage was impulsive as shit and twice as protective, she was giving up everything she'd worked for, every last person she considered family, so he wouldn't go off and get himself killed trying to avenge her injuries.

And it irked him that his little sister was doing something so drastic for _him, _the guy who was even now sitting on his Gramps' couch, believing every dumbass lie he and Makarov had told him about Lucy.

All that to say, he really didn't want to comfort Natsu right now. But another, harsher elbow to his ribcage from his grandfather had him grunting and standing up to approach the near catatonic dragon slayer.

Natsu jumped a bit when a heavy hand landed on his shoulder. Looking up, he saw the angry eyes of Laxus staring back down at him.

"Why don't you go find Happy, Natsu? Little blue dweeb is gonna need ya."

Natsu took a deep breath before nodding slightly, "Yeah…"

He stood and walked out slowly. Laxus shut the door behind him quickly, but quietly, and leaned heavily against the door, "I still hate this. It's Natsu's fucking fault. We should just lock him up so he doesn't try and go after them, so Blondie doesn't have to leave."

Makarov slumped his shoulders, clearly upset, but still voiced his disagreement, "Lucy's compassion is one of her greatest strengths, Laxus, but in this case, I believe it is to her detriment. While I'm certain Natsu was a part of her decision, I think you are underestimating how much guilt she feels at having been - in her opinion - the cause of so many grievous injuries to her family, to Fairy Tail. She is leaving because she doesn't feel strong enough to protect us, maybe not even herself. She is leaving because she feels it is the only thing that will guarantee our safety. And at this point, she may not be wrong."

Laxus glared at his grandfather, "We could find another way and you know it".

"Maybe," Makarov conceded, "Given time, and more information. Unfortunately, those are things we don't have right now. I don't like this any more than you do, and were it not for Lucy backing me into a corner, I would not have allowed it at all. But this is where we are now. And Lucy is so much stronger than she believes she is. I am choosing to trust in her, and in her abilities."

Laxus contemplated this for a moment.

Finally, after several minutes of thoughtful silence, he spoke, "I won't let her do this all on her own. She's my sister. Maybe not by blood," he focused on his grandfather and guildmaster, "but she may as well be. To both of us."

Makarov grunted, not really disagreeing with that. Lucy was like a granddaughter to him. Losing her would be unbearable. It would be like losing Laxus.

"But," Laxus continued, "I'll let her do this her way. I'll honor the terms you agreed to. Honestly," his gaze turned toward the ceiling as he spoke, "I've never met a mage with more potential than Lucy Heartfilia. Maybe getting away and focusing on herself and her training for once will help her reach that potential."

"So, we are in agreement, then?"

"Yeah," Laxus sighed, "We're the support on this one. We'll do whatever we can to make it easier for her, but she's running the show."

Makarov cracked the smallest of smiles, "Not like that stubborn woman gave us much of a choice, eh?"

Both Dreyer men chuckled quietly. Of course she didn't. And she never would.


	12. Chapter 12

**I do not own Fairy Tail.**

**Or the Pradesh Family. **

**Enjoy! Please rate and review!**

The first thing she noticed as she approached consciousness was the ache in her body. And once she noticed it, she couldn't focus on much else. She'd been tortured before - more times than she'd willingly admit to anyone - but this pain was greater than anything she remembered experiencing before. Her midsection felt like Natsu had used it for target practice - hell, like he still _was _using it for target practice. She felt the burning pain pulsing stronger with each beat of her heart. Her leg, she couldn't really feel. Normally that would worry her, but at this moment, she was just grateful for it. Hopefully when she really woke up enough to move, she'd look down and she'd still have a leg, but for now that wasn't a question she felt like worrying about. Her face hurt. That thought was soon echoed by her own sarcastic ass self saying 'yeah, it's killing me too' in her head, and she groaned out loud.

Look at that, apparently her sense of humor was intact, even if her leg might not be. Though, she was _sure _she used to be funnier than that.

Though, at least if she was permanently doomed to thinking of only 'dad jokes', she could effectively annoy Erik anytime they were near each other. The thought had her brightening, just a little.

Focusing back on her body, she took stock of her injuries. From what she remembered of Alec (the douchebag) and her wonderful chat, she had significantly fewer injuries now than when she'd hastily asked Laxus to teleport her to the guild. '_Gotta love Wendy,' _she mentally praised.

And then grimaced. Mentally, probably physically too, she still wasn't really with it and besides extreme pain? She couldn't feel what was happening with her face. Wendy… Of all the people she didn't want to face, all the people she didn't want to lie to, Wendy was at the top of the list. Along with Natsu, Gajeel, Erza, Gray. Levy. '_Shit. What am I gonna do? I don't want them to hate me… but I need them to. So I can keep them safe.'_

Realizing that if she kept spiraling out of control on her depressing thoughts, she'd never get anywhere, she decided to focus on her breathing. It hurt. A lot - most likely the broken ribs and fucking stab wound she'd gotten courtesy of one Alec of Fallen Star. God, that guild name still pissed her off.

'_Damnit, Lucy, focus!'_

Breathe in, breathe out. Repeat. She focused on that for what felt like hours, and eventually was able to block out some of the pain enough to bring herself fully into consciousness.

Slowly, she blinked her eyes open and took stock of her surroundings. Her long hair was spread out around her on the pillow, still covered in dirt and stained pink - some crude version of strawberry blonde obtainable only by soaking in your own blood (or the blood of your enemies, she supposed, if you were into that sort of thing) and having someone poorly attempt to rinse it while you were knocked the fuck out. Lovely. The white bed sheets of the infirmary had splotches of red in some spots where her bandages hadn't held up perfectly. Also lovely. Someone _had _told her once that red was her color. Somehow, she doubted this was what he meant.

Based on the color of the sky outside, it was clearly evening, the small glimpses of stars she could see out her window comforting in a way they hadn't been in a while. It had been a long time since she could see them without feeling overwhelming guilt, but the hours she spent thinking her guildmates were dead gave her a new appreciation for the sacrifice Aquarius had made for her.

She would never stop feeling guilty about what happened that day, but now it was overshadowed by overwhelming gratitude for her second mother. For sacrificing her freedom so the rest of her family wouldn't have to die a gruesome death. And now she had more to make up for. Now that she'd nearly cost them the very lives Aquarius had saved two years ago. She was beginning to think she didn't deserve her spirits or what they gave her, if this is what always comes of it.

Speaking of her spirits… where the hell were they?!

She almost flew into a panic, but just as she was about to lose her mind, she saw both Capricorn and Virgo's keys sitting on the table on her right, on top of her tattered, bloodstained clothing. She heaved a sigh of relief. She wanted, so badly, to reach for them, to put them back in her requip space to ensure they were out of reach of anyone but her, but moving right then wasn't an option. She settled for staring at them, determined to stay awake until someone came and put them in her hand so she could protect them.

She was losing the battle to keep her eyes opened when suddenly she heard a softly spoken, "Lu…"

Lucy froze. For the first time she noticed the man slumped in the chair next to her, a full head of blonde spikey hair on top of an unreasonably large lump of man with his forearms resting on the bed next to her bloody strawberry hair and his forehead resting on those. His face was still down, but she could tell he was awake. He just hated moving after waking up. He spoke again, still into the mattress, "Lu, you awake?"

"Y-yeah…" she said, her throat sounding like someone had forced her to swallow sandpaper.

Finally, he looked up, and frowned at her. He pushed himself from the chair he was resting in, and circled around the bed to grab the water pitcher and plastic cup from the table housing her keys. He poured her a cup, and instead of handing it to her, carefully set it to her lips and helped her drink.

She sputtered at first but finally allowed it, mumbling "I'm not an invalid" at him once he'd taken it away.

He cracked a small smile, "Yeah, sis, I know. But Porlyusica scares me a hell of a lot more than you do, no offense, and she told me not to let you move."

Lucy, who had to admit, moving was _not _an option, glared at her elder brother figure.

"Well, that really sucks. Because I need you to hand me those keys."

Laxus glared right back, "No."

"Hand. Me. My. Keys." She, _very carefully_, crossed her arms over her chest petulantly. Only to cringe and gasp as she brushed over the wound where she'd been _impaled._

"Fuck!" Lucy whisper-yelled, and Laxus regular yelled at the same time. He grabbed her hands and gently straightened her arms back to rest at her sides.

"Don't do that, you fucking idiot!" He scolded, only a little softer this time.

Lucy took a second to catch her breath. Repeatedly telling herself mentally how to breathe, like she'd somehow forgotten. She rolled her eyes.

"Lax, if you'd just give me the keys I wouldn't have had to move at all!"

"Don't blame me for your stupidity, Blondie!"

"You're blonde, too, dumbass!"

"Would the both of you quiet down and stop fighting before Lucy's impressive lung capacity causes her to reopen her wounds?" A voice said almost casually.

"L-Loke…. Sorry…." Lucy apologized to her lion spirit, who had popped out in such a subtle cloud of golden sparkles that neither her or Laxus had noticed. That, or they were just so into their stubborn - and mostly pointless - bickering that they weren't paying attention to anything else. That, honestly, was more likely. It wouldn't even be the first time it happened (the first time it had happened was while they were on mission in Crocus. Lucy was pretty sure Sting was _still _laughing about it, a thought that made her want to beg Laxus teleport them to Sabretooth post-haste just so she could beat him into the ground).

"Laxus, give Lucy her keys," Loke instructed calmly. Slowly. Like he was mediating an argument for two five-year-olds. The similarities were actually pretty amusing - or would be if Lucy's health wasn't hanging in the balance. Sometimes her ability to handle pain and to push past it to be stubborn as hell was really disadvantageous.

The lightning slayer looked ready to protest, but Loke growled at him, and the bulky blonde relented with a frustrated grumble.

Lucy grinned (as much as she could through the pain of her facial wounds) at Loke seemingly siding with her. She loved it when she was right!

"Don't get too cocky, Lucy," Loke admonished. Mavis, he knew he was older than them be millenia but did they _really_ have to act so much like children?

Loke continued, "You're only requipping them back to storage because I'm lending you power. You're too weak to wield your own right now, Laxus was right to keep them from you."

Lucy pouted, and Laxus turned a triumphant smile her way. '_Sweet victory…'_

Laxus watched as Loke placed his hand on his sister's shoulder and, with a faint golden glow emanating from his palm, transferred the smallest amount of magic power to her so she could requip her keys. He was pretty sure he only did so because the Zodiacs being targeted required him to take action. Loke was more protective of Lucy than even Natsu was sometimes, and her using any magic was dangerous. He could tell by the look on Loke's face that he hated letting her use even the magic he supplied her.

"Now, go to sleep."

Lucy, who was rapidly losing energy now that her keys were safe, didn't put up much of a fight about that. Laxus helped get her into a more comfortable position, and before he'd even removed his hands from the sheets, she was sleeping once again.

He faced Loke and spoke softly to him, "Do you think she can handle what she's signed up for?"

The Lion spirit shrugged, "Lucy… She's special. The amount of power she has, the amount of potential she has… honestly, it would be terrifying if she were anyone but Lucy Heartfilia. I have lived for far longer than you can even comprehend, and a wizard like her has never existed before. Not one. If she grew as a person, gained confidence, trained hard for it - there is nothing in the world she couldn't accomplish. The only real worry is if she will reach that potential before she is either forced to face an enemy she isn't ready for, or she forces herself to face an enemy she isn't ready for out of misplaced guilt or insecurities."

Laxus would like to say he was surprised at the assessment Loke had given, but he just… wasn't. Like his grandfather, he was good at _feeling_ magic. He could feel the power she already wielded, and it was nothing short of amazing. He could feel the power around her practically begging to be embraced, power she'd not yet been able to grasp.

Combine that with her iron will, the kind of mental fortitude very few people had? She was a force of nature just waiting to be unleashed.

"I have to go. The last few days have been… challenging. We all need some rest, you included," Loke advised, starting to shimmer as he prepared to return to the celestial realm.

"Oh!" he added hastily, "I hate to say this, but she was out of it this evening enough that she didn't think to ask about her injuries. I'd prepare myself if I were you, because the next time she wakes she's going to want to know why you didn't tell her she only has one eye."

* * *

The next time Lucy woke, it was slightly more pleasant. She felt a light tug on her hair and blinked her eyes open slowly to observe what was happening.

The sunlight streamed through the window now, her dear stars no longer visible in the blue sky and the infirmary looking more bland and boring than ever in the harsh light of day. She felt someone behind her, pulling on her long hair, and quickly recognized it as someone brushing through the once-blonde locks. She turned quickly, not thinking, and gasped as her injuries reminded her of their existence with searing pain throughout her body. Groaning, allowed herself to fall back to face directly forward as she struggled to breathe through the pain.

The mysterious hair-brusher popped her face into her vision, worry etched on her features.

"Ch-Chelia…?" Lucy asked weakly. She had to be seeing things.

"Lucy," she said plainly, "Are you okay?"

Lucy could tell she was not acting as the normal cheerful teenager she'd known through Wendy. The only reason she could think that would be was if the guild had been told of her 'betrayal'. Chelia had always been fiercely protective of Wendy's feelings, ever since the two sky mages had bonded after the Grand Magic Games.

She was glad the Sky Dragon Slayer had someone on her side, especially now that she couldn't protect the young bluenette herself anymore.

Pushing away her soft, gentle thoughts about the mage in front of her, Lucy steeled her expression. She supposed if Laxus and Gramps had honored her request and were lying for her, it was time she started acting her part as well. God, this was going to hurt. She hated herself already for it.

"I'm fine. Get out."

Her previously stoic expression faded, and was replaced with an angry downturn of her lips, "I can't leave. I'm your healer. I won't let Wendy help you after what you've done, but I won't let you die either, so I have to heal you." Chelia placed the hairbrush down not-so-gently on the bedside table.

"I'm not going anywhere," she confirmed, "if I heal you quickly, you can leave and Wendy will never have to see you again."

'_Ouch…' _Lucy thought, flinching slightly. If it was this hard playing her part to _Chelia, _of all people, how was she going to treat her loved ones this way? She almost wished she could just skip out of town and never look back, rather than face her family and convince them that the lies she's orchestrated were the truth.

"I don't need your fucking help, you little brat. Leave!" she shouted, trying to think of what a Charle would say. The little white cat was good at pushing people away, really. She wished she'd paid more attention to her rather than tuning her out. At least she still had good ideas she'd stolen from some of Erik's meaner monologues to draw inspiration from.

She found herself channeling her inner Erik a lot these past few days, she realized. She wondered if it was just because the situations had called for his type of approach, or if she was thinking about him to avoid thinking about anyone else. After all, she was sure of all her friends, he was the only one who would still care for her even after all this. He had enough demons in his past that anything she did, she was sure he would forgive her for. Besides, even if she wanted to, if she was anywhere near him, he would hear her truth in her soul. She found some form of comfort in that.

Chelia's angry hiss pulled her out of her thoughts. She said something angrily that an exhausted Lucy didn't quite catch, but she raised her hands as though she was going to start healing her again. Normally, that behaviour would be contradictory, but Lucy knew that any healing Chelia did for her was just to get her out of Fairy Tail as quickly as possible.

"You heard her, Chelia. I must ask you to please step out. You are magically exhausted as it is, dear girl. Lucy here will be just fine until you are recovered enough to continue."

"But Makarov, sir-"

Makarov cut her off with a look as he approached Lucy's bedside, "Go on, Chelia. Lyon is waiting to check on you anyway."

She gave Lucy one more frustrated look before disappearing out the infirmary door and slamming it behind her. Makarov only sighed at the display.

Lucy let out a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding, and winced when it aggravated her smarting ribs. Still broken, then. Makarov pulled the chair Chelia had been sitting in from behind the bed to its side and stood on it, reaching out to grab her hand gently once he could see her properly.

"Lucy," he began warmly, "how are you feeling, child?" The exhaustion in his face was clear, as he gave her a sad smile and squeezed her hand, the one that held her pink guildmark.

Tears pooled in her eyes, but she refused to allow them to fall. She was done crying, honestly, she'd done that enough in the last twelve years (or five, depending on how you looked at it) to last her a lifetime. The only thing left, the only thing she could _allow _herself to have left, was a steely determination to do what needed to be done.

Gulping, she replied, "I… I feel like I got hit by a train, to be honest, but I'll survive. You want to run me through my injuries? And maybe explain why I can't see anything on my left side?"

Makarov winced, but told her about her condition, explaining she'd been unconscious since her return to the guild hall two nights ago. Porlyusica had apparently been in and out, treating her injuries as she could, administering potions to help Chelia's healing along since the damage she'd sustained was so extensive. He explained that while Chelia was a great healer, she had already been magically fatigued when Lucy had arrived, and had only been able to treat the worst of her injuries the first night, just so she would stay alive. He went on to explain that her eye was, for lack of a better description, gone. And that the scarring on her face was permanent, as Alec had made sure to burn enough of her skin while tormenting her that if she somehow did escape, she would always be marked.

The loss of her depth perception was something she took pretty hard. She wanted to get stronger, and now there was another hurdle standing in her way. But, she reasoned, at least she'd already set aside time to train. Now she would just need to adapt to her current circumstances. And the scars didn't really bother her. She took them as punishment for not being strong enough to protect her family again, and when she'd seen herself in the mirror she wasn't exactly surprised at the angry red line that marked from her hairline, broke through her eyebrow and her eye, and travelled all the way down to split the left side of her lip. It looked just as she thought it would when she felt it.

She found herself thinking of Erik again, and she chuckled to herself.

"You alright, Lucy?" Makarov asked her, he'd been very worried about handing her the mirror to check her reflection. She was still beautiful, of course. In his opinion the scar on her face made her look more mature, and didn't really retract from her features. It would even less so as the angry red line healed more, and faded into a light pink mark - depending on how it healed, it might just turn a lighter shade of her natural skin tone. But he knew Lucy had once prided herself on her looks. For a long time, he was sure that was the only thing she held confidence in, and he really didn't want to see her cry about the line marring her flesh. Needless to say, her chuckling was not exactly expected.

She only laughed harder at his question, but in doing so, hurt her ribs. She couldn't seem to stop laughing, so clutching at her side and wincing through it, she told Makarov, "W-we m-m-match…." Lucy stammered out between giggles.

"What?"

"L-Laxus… E-Er-Erik…"

Makarov only seemed to grow more confused the longer she giggled. He wasn't sure if she was just getting hysterical.

Tears streaming down her face, she tried one last time, "Laxus's _eye, _Gramps! Erik… C-Cobra's _eye. _W-we can b-be the PIRATE PALS! Aahahahaha…" Lucy choked out, unable to stop her mirth despite the fact it was causing her increasing pain in her ribs.

Finally catching on to what the blonde was saying, Makarov chuckled as well. Leave it to Lucy to laugh off something as serious as losing an eye.

Laxus chose that moment to enter the infirmary. He'd been worried when he saw Chelia storm out of the room, but instead of asking the young girl about it, he'd decided to head up and check for himself. He was glad he did, honestly, because he'd been worried sick about his self-claimed little sister and angry enough about the whole situation that he was ready to explode. Seeing her laugh, even over something so bizarre (Pirate Pals, really? He and Cobra got along okay, but it's not like they were really even close friends. He definitely wouldn't call him a 'pal').

Smiling just a little, Laxus huffed and crossed his arms, addressing Lucy, "Oh come on, Lu. You've gotta have better jokes than that. I'm not even missing an eye, it's just a scar. You two are on your own there."

"Doesn't matter," Lucy said, winding down from her hysterical laughter, "Scar is close enough, Dear Brother. I'm starting to see the family resemblance now."

She grinned up at him, still holding herself around the torso, the other hand holding up the mirror toward the other blonde, as if to inspect herself and Laxus side-by-side.

"You're weird as shit, you know that?" Laxus questioned, pulling the handheld mirror from her and setting it out of her reach.

* * *

After Lucy had argued for an hour about how her magic levels were back to mostly-normal, Makarov and Laxus had allowed her to call Virgo out and clean herself up - very carefully. She took a shower in the bathroom attached to the infirmary with her maid spirit's help, and finally cleared the awful pink hue out of her hair so it reflected a healthy blonde color once more. After getting out and carefully patting dry around her recently closed injuries, she inspected herself in the mirror and found a multitude of new scars beyond the one resting on her face.

Honestly, scars weren't new to her. She'd had scars before she ever even left the Konzern, but before now they'd not been noticeable. Now though, thanks to the heat of Alec's magic, she had scars that she knew would never heal enough to fade away. A faint, but dark scar on her upper chest, just over her heart where his sword had almost ended her life if not for Laxus' timely intervention. A deep, horrible looking scar where he'd impaled her just under her ribs, and a matching one on her back where it had gone all the way through. A cut along her shin - though that one had hope of fading, since it was caused by her leg bone poking through the skin there instead of Alec's heated blade. There were others but she'd stopped looking - not wanting to see the damage to her body. Seeing it just made her feel phantom pains from the memory of the hot steel on her skin, and she could do without those.

When she finally made it back to her bed, changed and feeling - for the most part - very refreshed, Makarov began a discussion she wasn't particularly excited to have.

"So," he began, "As you've likely already deduced, we have gone ahead with your plan as you wished. Your closest friends have been told of your expulsion, and the reasons why," he explained each of the pieces of 'evidence' they'd used to explain the situation. By the time he was done explaining all they had told her friends, even she was almost convinced she was the spy. She hated that, but was glad that her plan seemed to be working out.

"It… didn't go over well, but… it became hard for them to refute my points once they understood you have 'confessed'. I'm not entirely sure Natsu has accepted this information at truth, but he likely will if you speak to him. I know that would be painful for you, but necessary. You may even find yourself having to convince several of your guildmates, I am sorry to say. We are a stubborn bunch," he chuckled without humor.

"I've informed the rest of the guild of your expulsion, but refused details to the majority of the group."

Lucy thought this over and nodded, "just don't forget, either of you, that there's still a _real _traitor here somewhere," she thought it over, "I… I really just don't know who it could be. I don't want it to be anyone, but the facts can't be denied. Be careful. If they find out we're still on good terms, Fairy Tail will be in danger all over again and this would've been for nothing."

Laxus rolled his eyes, "We aren't dense, Blondie. We know. We are working on that already, but it's going to be hard to narrow down. We will find them though," he clenched his fists, "I guarantee you we will, it's only a matter of time."

Lucy reached out and gripped his shoulder in a comforting gesture, "Stay safe".

"Tch. I should be telling you that, Blondie," he replied.

Makarov smiled at them gently. Seeing them like this, even with everything so chaotic, made him believe they would all be alright.

"We will all be safe," Master stated, "Deal?"

Lucy, goofball that she was (and would always be) stuck her hand in the center of the space between the three of them.

Both Dreyar men sighed, but put their hands in anyway, piling them on top of hers.

"Deal" they said in unison, and pushed their hands down before bringing them back up over their heads in a "go team" type gesture. Lucy clutched her ribs and winced just after.

"Idiot," Laxus teased.


	13. Chapter 13

**Thanks for reading! I don't own Fairy Tail or the Pradesh Family, they belong to Hiro Mashima and Desna, respectively!**

**I hope you enjoy the new chapter, please rate and review!**

* * *

"So, about your guild mark…"

Lucy frowned. She wasn't stupid, she knew her guild mark had to be removed. She just didn't think about it, and now that the Master was standing over her on her last day in the guild, ready to remove it, she realized how painful it would be to watch him do it.

"Y-yeah… I guess you have to take it. Now?"

"Nah, Blondie. We'll do it later - but you are gonna need a new one," Laxus told her from the other side of the bed. She'd been feeling significantly better after two more healing sessions from Chelia and excessive amounts of sleep yesterday, but they'd insisted she remain on bed rest. It was annoying, but she accepted their over protectiveness without much fuss. After all, it was likely the last time in a long while - or probably ever - that they would have the chance to baby her like this. She'd let them have it.

"What do you mean, new one?" Lucy asked in surprise, looking back and forth between Laxus and Gramps (her lack of a second eye forcing her to swing her head back and forth almost comically), the latter of which grinned.

"You don't think we'd send you off without our mark on you, did you? Lucy, you're still a Fairy. You always will be. We just have to make sure your mark is less… visible. For the purposes of your mission."

Lucy felt tears of happiness threaten to escape her tight hold on them, but like she had done so many times in the last day, she forced them back, instead giving a small heartfelt smile.

"Thank you, Master" Lucy reached for his hand, but missed. Damn depth perception. Makarov met her halfway and squeezed her hand.

"So where shall we put it, and what color? I want to do this now so you and Virgo will have time before you depart to find clothes that will ensure it remains hidden."

Lucy couldn't help but think about how thoughtful the old man was.

Leaning back and releasing Makarov's hand, Lucy thought through her options before settling on what she thought was best. Before making the decision, she requipped Virgo's key and called her forth, "Virgo!".

Said maid spirit appeared quickly, holding out several articles of clothing, "I took the liberty of bringing you some options, Princess. Punishment?"

Lucy had long gotten over her embarrassment of Virgo asking her for punishment at every summon. While she'd at first believed it to be a hold-over from the cruelty she experienced at the hands of the ever-so-slimy Duke Everlue, she had realized over time that the maid spirit actually just craved punishment from those she trusted (and in fact had never asked for it from the creepy Duke). She'd spoken to Virgo about it before, and while she wasn't entirely comfortable with it, she had told the pink-haired spirit that she would indulge her from time to time.

"Yes, Virgo. Come here," Lucy answered, and the maid spirit bounded toward her keyholder excitedly.

"Hold out your arm," Lucy commanded gently. She never liked doing this, but she wouldn't deny Virgo much of anything. The spirit had always been there for her and she would do anything to make sure she was happy. Virgo complied with Lucy's request happily, holding her right arm out over the bed while standing next to Makarov.

Lucy reached forward and pinched her forearm lightly enough that it could barely hurt, and Virgo's excitement was almost palpable.

"Thank you, Princess!" she shouted gleefully.

Lucy was just glad that both Gramps and Laxus had witnessed this before, or she'd have been seriously embarrassed. The first time they'd witnessed it had lead to the most awkward of conversations between the three, Laxus grumbling, Gramps confused, and Lucy adamantly explaining that it wasn't sexual in any way.

The celestial mage simply nodded to her spirit before speaking to her once more, "No problem, Virgo," she smiled, "I did actually want your thoughts on this though."

Lucy gestured to her recently unbandaged side, at the slightly lightened scar that rested under her ribcage where she'd received the most extensive of her many injuries.

"Do you think we could cover this if I put my new mark here?"

Virgo nodded excitedly, and Makarov and Laxus looked at her somewhat surprised. She'd always bared her midriff in her outfits, since she ran away from her father. Placing the mark there would limit that pretty severely.

"Of course, Princess," Virgo said enthusiastically, holding out a dark purple bundle of fabric. She usually lost her stoicism a little bit after Lucy gave in and 'disciplined' her, and as odd as it was for Lucy to punish her friend, she always loved seeing her with a little more life in her eyes.

Lucy grabbed the clothing and held it in front of her while Virgo explained, "Try that on, Princess. I believe this cut will suit your needs perfectly with the placement of the mark you're considering."

Hopping up - a little bit slowly still, not wanting to risk aggravating any of the few remaining injuries - she walked to the bathroom and pulled the fabric over her head and settled it on her torso, pulling at the bottom hem to test the length. It was tight fitting, and reached down to just above her belly button and even when she twisted and moved, it didn't ride up. It covered more skin than she was used to, but she still got to show off her lower abdominal muscles and the belly button piercing she'd gotten last year, so she thought it was acceptable.

Stepping back into the main room, she looked at the three people waiting in the infirmary.

"So?"

"Blondie, you look fine. So you want the mark over your scar? Why?"

Lucy clamored back into bed, still in the shirt she'd received from Virgo paired with the fuzzy pajama pants she'd yet to change out of, and scrambled under the covers slightly. She shrugged at her pseudo-brother.

"It's a reminder, I guess. Of what I've overcome, and who I'm fighting for…" she said quietly. Laxus placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Alright, Lu. Gramps?"

"Right. I'll place it there, Lucy. What color?"

Lucy lifted her shirt enough that the stamp could be placed on her skin, and responded, "Dark Purple? Like the shirt? Virgo, you did a great job, I actually really love this color."

Virgo cracked the smallest of smiles at the compliment as Makarov nodded and placed the mark on her master's skin.

"Am I needed for anything else, Princess?" Virgo inquired.

"Actually," Lucy inspected her new mark before lowering the shirt again, "can you get me some maps of Fiore and the surrounding kingdoms? Hell, maybe even Alakitasia, who knows where this guild might be? Some research books on celestial magic? I'll need reference and travel books for the different regions too…" she continued on with a list of items for Virgo to obtain, talking for two solid minutes while Virgo just nodded after each item. "Crux will likely be able to help you find what I need, he told me he'd allow me to borrow items from his library if I needed so maybe check in with him?"

Virgo agreed to this, saying simply, "Of course. I shall go at once to fetch the items you've requested. Please allow me time to track it all down."

She bowed before disappearing in a shower of golden sparkles.

"So, you're really going then…"

Lucy lowered her head at Laxus' softly spoken comment. "You know I have to, Lax. I'm sorry." She gripped at the bedsheets roughly.

"We know, child. Don't forget our terms," He added that last bit almost scoldingly.

"Of course, Gramps." She still couldn't look at either of them.

Laxus grabbed her hand and turned it over, placing a small communications lacrima in her palm. "Every week," he reminded her, running his free hand through his wild hair.

"Every week," she agreed, gripping the com tightly.

* * *

After Laxus and Makarov had left, Lucy had little to do but plan, and think, and wait for Virgo to return. As the time went by Lucy couldn't help but recognize that these moments were the last she would spend as a member of Fairy Tail - well, at least the last hours that she would spend _with_ her guild. The fact that she was still technically a member wasn't enough: while she found strength in remaining connected to everyone, it meant very little when they all hated her and she wouldn't be able to see them. _Most likely never again. _The thought was a sobering one.

She thought little on her injuries, but she _did _think quite a bit about the man that had inflicted them. The man she was now giving up her life as she knew it to track down. The anger she felt towards that man, Alec Cinder (what a stupid name), was unbelievable. A kind of anger she'd not felt for _anyone_ before. Not even Minerva, who'd almost killed her in front of all of Crocus. Not even for Jackal, who'd almost killed Natsu and had forced Aquarius to sacrifice herself (and that level of anger, she had thought it was unsurpassable). The kind of raging fury she felt now was an entirely new experience for the celestial mage, who before would have easily forgiven most anyone for most anything. No, the master of Fallen Star (again with that stupid fucking name) would never earn forgiveness from Lucy, it was simply an impossibility. He'd sacrificed his own teammate, _his own teammate,_ without hesitation for something as minor as kidnapping Lucy.

She vowed to herself that the man was going to pay, no matter what. Lucy knew if she got the opportunity, she would murder him with the same lack of hesitation he'd displayed as he'd slain his own comrade. And that thought scared her, made her fear the changes she'd undergone, but at the same time only increased her hatred of the man for being the cause of such a change in who she was and how far she was willing to go.

Lucy was still deep in her thoughts when Virgo returned some time later, armfuls of reference materials in her hands: paper, pens, a bag stuffed full of clothing, books, and other items. And she wasn't alone.

"Princess, what are you doing?"

Lucy turned her attention to the spikey-haired lion spirit that had summoned himself, holding the remainder of the books Virgo hadn't been able to carry. He sounded disappointed, even a little frustrated, and that honestly surprised her. She'd just spoken with him the previous evening and everything had seemed okay.

"What do you mean, Loke?"

The spirit glared at her, setting down the few items he held in his hands and crossing his arms over his chest, "You know what I mean. Why are you volunteering for a mission, on your own, that you know will put you in danger?"

"Where is this coming from? Didn't you know about this already?"

Loke tapped the side of his head, "Seems that now your magic is back at full strength, you're unconsciously feeding that special new bond we've got. I know what you're planning."

Lucy blanched. If she felt around her magical containers and really focused, she could tell there was a tiny drain on it from maintaining a connection to Loke. Now that she focused on it, she felt frustration, anger, and worry coming from his side of the bond. Not individual thoughts, but she imagined that was likely because he was more aware of the bond and was not actively projecting his thoughts into her head.

She sighed, "It's my call, Leo," she spat out. The spirit flinched, and Virgo took that as her cue to leave, mumbling a goodbye as she disappeared. Lucy didn't call him Leo, not ever. She knew it reminded him of Karen, and that it still caused him pain in the form of memories he'd rather not relive.

Lucy continued, ignoring the pain that flashed through his eyes at the mention of his real name, "I'm doing what I have to do. I won't let anyone else get hurt for my sake-"

She was cut off when Loke stormed across the room and got in her face, staring into her eyes.

He looked more menacing than she'd ever seen him. That kind of glare wasn't something he ever sent her way.

"What the _hell _do you mean, it's _your call_?" he spoke quietly, but the anger in his voice was unmistakable. "Do you have _any _idea what the rest of us were going through watching you _die_? Listen up, princess, because I'm only saying this once, and I expect you to remember it."

Lucy gulped, but didn't look away from him, "Your recklessness is _hurting _us, hurting me. For over two fucking years we have watched you push yourself past your limits, to the point of nearly dying, draining your magic energy and throwing yourself into battles you have no business being in, and forcing _us _ \- and Natsu - to cover for you. I swore to protect you, Lucy, and now that you requip your keys I'm the only one who can ever reach you when you refuse to allow us to help!"

Loke violently pushed his fingers through his disheveled hair, "and _then, _the one time you do call for us, you go and push yourself so hard against that snake chick that our gates closed when we could have helped you take them down. Because of that, you were too weak to prevent those assholes from taking you, and torturing you, and nearly ending your life!"

The spirit was pacing back and forth. He hated having this conversation with her, but her guilt over Aquarius had pushed her so far that she was being reckless. And this dumbass scheme she was concocting now was only going to get her killed.

"And we couldn't even help you. We were powerless, even I could only materialize to save Makarov. I had to defend him while I watched you, laying on the ground covered in blood, certain you would die, and there was _nothing I could do. _You have _no idea _what that was like."

The lion spirit sat down heavily on the bed next to his keyholder, and locked his gaze with hers.

"So no, Lucy," he said, more gently now as he grasped her hand, "It's not just _your call_. Not anymore. Because your calls these days have put you into the danger we've sworn to protect you from."

Not taking his eyes from hers, he spoke softly once again, "And there is no way, not a chance in hell, I will let you go through with taking on that guild without Fairy Tail's help. I can't believe you would even consider breaking your promise to Makarov to call them for help when you find them."

Lucy wanted to defend herself, to say he was wrong. But she really couldn't. She wanted to be mad at Loke for listening in on plans she had not yet even fully committed to, but it was her own fault for not recognizing she had opened their new bond again.

She'd pushed them all away, all of her spirits, after Aquarius. She called on them only when she had no other option, and if she really thought about it, Loke had been forced to save her time and again by using his own magic to come to Earthland. After everything, she just wanted to be strong enough not to need them to risk themselves anymore.

She just wanted to be strong enough to protect them, but apparently, even that was beyond her reach. She was hopeless. Both she and Loke knew it.

"So you think I'm weak, too…" She finally muttered after several minutes of uncomfortable silence.

Exasperated, Loke threw his hands in the air and sighed. "Ugh, women!" he shouted, turning away from the bed and pacing back and forth after standing up suddenly from the bed.

"You're an idiot!" he shouted at her, rolling his eyes and pinching the bridge of his nose.

Genuinely shocked by his words, Lucy glanced up at her spirit once more. He had never called her a name that wasn't associated with blatant flirting.

"Uhm… What?"

The spirit stopped pacing and turned his shoulders to face her, "You heard me. You're an idiot. You aren't _weak_, Lucy. You're the strongest celestial spirit wielder that has ever existed, apart from Anna maybe. And you have the potential to be _so much better_. If you'd stopped launching yourself headlong into dangerous situations to escape your emotional pain, you'd be unstoppable. Even old man Gildarts couldn't hold a candle to the magical potential you have. Do you even realize how fucking impressive that is?"

Lucy looked surprised, but doubtful. If she was that impressive she could have protected Aquarius. Could have protected her guild three days ago when they were attacked because of their association with her.

"Lucy, look at me," Loke had approached again, grabbing her chin gently and forcing her eyes up to look at him, "You're a celestial wizard. Our strength _is _your strength, and we are here to help you. No matter what, because we all love you. But for the last two years, you haven't allowed us to help you, and you've thrown yourself so hard into 'making it up to Aquarius that you haven't stopped to consider what she would think of you throwing your life away. Or what the rest of us would think, for that matter. You've undoubtedly gotten stronger, princess, but if you handicap yourself and refuse to call on us, you'll never be as strong as you can be."

He released her chin and stood up, crossing his arms, "You're pulling away from your friends in the guild, and I think you know that. But have you realized how much you've pulled away from your spirits? We miss you."

Lucy listed to his soft voice, taking comfort in his words. He didn't think she was powerless. He just wanted to help. While she still doubted that she was as strong as he was trying to convince her she was, she did know that she was infinitely stronger with her spirits than going alone. And she was an idiot for even considering going after that dark guild alone.

That didn't change what she needed to do, but she knew she needed to at the very least stick to the terms she'd agreed to with Gramps. She'd get stronger, and she'd go off on her own, to protect her family, but she could at least allow them to help when she was ready. If they'd still want to.

She felt guilt stab at her heart for neglecting her spirits. The heaviness in her heart only increased when she considered that she hadn't even _noticed._

"You… You think the others will forgive me? I've been a terrible friend, and an even worse keyholder…" Lucy asked him, looking down at her hands in shame.

Arms wrapped around her shoulders as Loke leaned down and hugged her gently, "You idiot. You're still an amazing keyholder, Lucy, and we all love you. We're just so _worried_."

She nodded into his shoulder, one solitary tear escaping her eye (very much against her will) as she hugged him close. "I-I'm sorry…" she spoke softly, "For calling you Leo…"

Chuckling, he pulled away. "Don't worry about it, _Luce." _

It was her turn to flinch, hearing the nickname only Natsu used. Thinking about her pink-haired partner hurt, considering she likely only hours away from never seeing him again. She supposed she deserved the jab, though, and she shrugged it off.

"I'll follow the terms Master and I agreed to," she told him, "but that still means I'm leaving. To protect everyone."

Nodding, he mumbled, "I know." Loke tucked her head under his chin as he settled at her side.

Lucy smiled. For the first time since the attack, she felt some relief. She wasn't going alone after all. She'd just forgotten that half of her family resided on her hip (or in her requip space these days, but her point remains).

"Toss me those reference materials would you?" she asked quietly, pulling away from his embrace, "And then _go home, _you look like hell," she said to Loke. And she wasn't wrong. He still looked exhausted.

He smiled back at her, glad to finally see that spark in her eyes that he'd missed for the last few years returned, albeit slowly. He sauntered over to where the pile of maps and books sat abandoned, and carefully stacked them at the foot of her bed so she could reach them. When he was done, he raised a hand in farewell and stepped back through his gate, disappearing in a flash of golden magic.


	14. Chapter 14

**I do not own Fairy Tail or the Pradesh Family. **

**I hope you enjoy the latest chapter!**

She should have known that the few days of peace she'd gotten while she was recovering from her injuries wasn't going to last much longer. Especially considering she was only going to be in the guild for one more night, she was leaving first thing the following morning. The confrontations were bound to happen sometime, she had just _really _hoped she could avoid it. Possibly forever. She didn't want to hurt her friends.

But when a knock on the door interrupted the plans she'd been making for her mission, Lucy knew her luck had finally run out.

The only people who wouldn't be here to confront her were Laxus, Makarov, or Porlyusica - Chelia having left (and taken Wendy with her, if she was to believe what Porlyusica told her) - and none of them knock at the door.

She tensed, wondering who would be the first to try speaking to her.

"Lucy…" Erza's voice. Of course. She had always been the most straightforward of her friends. Of her team. It was no surprise she'd be the first to face her.

Though she knew she should respond, tell her off, get it over with, she opted for silence. God, she felt like a coward, but she couldn't bring herself to talk.

"Lucy… I don't understand," Erza continued, her voice slightly muffled through the door. She didn't sound angry, surprisingly. The red head was widely known for her wrath, her quick temper. But now? The only thing Lucy could detect in her voice was sadness. Well, that and an overwhelming sense of hopelessness. That last was the last thing she expected to hear from the Titania. It broke her heart.

Testing her muscles, Lucy stretched her legs out from the criss-cross position they'd been in. Her muscles were sore, but not entirely unmovable, so pulled herself from the bed and padded silently over to the door to place a hand on the cool wooden surface. She wished she could reach out and hug the woman, even if that hug was likely to open her facial scar (after all, Erza had never really learned how to embrace someone without slamming their face against her metal chestplate). The closest she could get was her hand against the opposite side of the door where Lucy was sure Erza had rested her forehead.

She could feel the thrum of Freed's magic protesting her proximity, but it didn't cause pain. It was just energy on the surface, warning her not to go farther. She was sure Freed could have made it so it would be painful to the touch, but the man was kindhearted to a fault. She would miss him. She sighed, quietly enough that Erza couldn't hear her, and looked at the guild symbol displayed on her hand as it rested against the door.

"Lucy… Is it really true?" Erza's voice broke. She could hear it through the door. Lucy's heart broke right along with it.

'_Damn it, damn it, damn it!' _Lucy thought to herself. The tension in her jaw became painful as she fought with herself. '_You can't comfort her, Lucy. You _can't. _It's your turn to protect her, after all she's done for you, and this is the only way. She'll be upset, but she'll be alive. That's what matters…'_

She still couldn't bring herself to speak aloud.

"I know you're there, Lucy. Answer me." the redhead's voice was starting to betray her frustration and anger. Lucy, as much as she hated it, was a little relieved. Hatred, anger? She could handle that. Heartbreak? She wasn't so sure.

Steeling herself, Lucy responded in an emotionless voice, "Yes, _Titania_. It's true."

"But _why_?"

Lucy wanted to tell her everything. Right in that moment. All she wanted was that crushing, all consuming hug.

She pushed the feeling aside and instead, channeled all the anger she had for Alec into her words.

"It doesn't even matter, _Scarlet_," she was sure to say her last name. First names were too familiar. Hurt too much.

"I failed, you win. Let it go. Your pathetic guild is safe."

"Lucy-"

The celestial mage let out a mocking laugh, cutting her off, "Honestly, though," she giggled, though she'd rather cry, "I'm _amazed _that someone with your reputation fell for it in the first place. Especially after the tower? Aren't you supposed to be _cautious? _How you ever made S-Class is beyond me if you're so easily-"

It was Lucy's turn to be cut off. A loud thump was heard reverberating off the walls and the door was splintered, forcing her to step back away from it and pull her hand away quickly. It was amazing the wood didn't break, but Freed's enchantment held it together.

Erza stepped back from the door she'd just struck, shaking out her bleeding fist. Without another word, she stomped back through the main room while other members launched themselves out of her path. She kicked open the newly-repaired doors to the hall and shattered them on her way out, tears streaming down her face.

Lucy let out a heaving breath, and collapsed to her knees. Clutching her aching chest, she fought the tears filling her remaining eye and tried not to hyperventilate and start sobbing like the whiny teenager she used to be. This was hard, so _fucking _hard. She wasn't sure she could do it again. She hoped with all she had that Erza was the only one who would find themselves at her door looking for answers.

After a few moments of silence, she finally stood up.

Brushing off her knees, she stood still for a moment and just closed her eye - clearing her mind as much as she possibly could.

After several minutes, she walked slowly back to the bed and continued her mission plan. Fallen Star (dumbass name) wasn't going to destroy itself, after all.

* * *

Natsu was confused. Under normal circumstances, that wouldn't be odd for him. He spent a lot of time confused about a lot of different things. He wasn't an idiot, he honestly was pretty intelligent, but he didn't always handle subtlety well, and that often lead people to believe he was a grade-A moron. He didn't much care though, he knew his family loved him, so it wasn't worth his time to correct them.

This time, though, was different. Things had been spelled out for him, in a very much _not subtle _way, and he still didn't understand. Everyone kept talking about how his partner was somehow a traitor and was going to be expelled from the guild.

And that's just what he didn't understand. Not that she _was _a traitor, he'd put the pieces together somewhat, and they made enough sense that he _sort of _believed it could be true. What he absolutely could not wrap his head around was how he hadn't _noticed. _For twelve years.

He didn't understand how it was possible. Because he knew, without a doubt, that she had made him a better person. She had taught him so much that he really believed the entire reason he was even considered an adult was because she showed him how to be one. How to not act like the grade-A moron that most assumed he was.

How could that be true, but she wasn't? She was a traitor? It… didn't make sense. And no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't _make _it make sense.

He hated it.

He started pulling at his hair in frustration, but before he actually pull it from his skull there was a loud banging sound coming from down the hall and the whole guild hall shook.

Down the hall. _The infirmary._

Natsu exhausted brain immediately threw itself in to panic mode, but he caught sight of Erza coming down the hall before he could freak out. The dragon slayer relaxed upon seeing her, but as she looked thoroughly peeved, he quickly made himself scarce. Ducking under the bar to avoid your angry teammate? Probably considered cowardly. But come on, it was _Erza._

She took no notice of anyone really, much to many guild members' relief, as she plowed through the guild hall and kicked the door open - well, more like kicked it to pieces. She left without explanation, her fiery red hair flowing out behind her as she marched toward the setting sun.

'_Oh I'm going to regret this… '_ Natsu thought to himself, before making a move to follow her.

While he wanted to visit Lucy, Makarov had made it clear he would lose his life if he was seen anywhere near the infirmary. He'd have to sneak up there when Gramps left.

Besides, it looked like Erza was just there, and he couldn't help but hope she had some sort of information to share with him.

And, though he would never admit this out loud, she clearly needed someone to help her calm down before she sliced the entirety of Magnolia to pieces, like she had done with the guild doors just moments before.

Natsu's gaze found Jellal - who was at a table with Romeo, Gajeel, Levy, and Happy - and nodded to him, signalling his intention to go after the requip mage.

Jellal seemed to understand what his intention, as he sat back down at the table he instead of following after his girlfriend. Jellal understood that sometimes, Erza really needed to talk to someone that wasn't him. He knew she loved him, but this whole thing with Lucy? Natsu or Gray were more likely to understand than he was, and if Natsu was willing to comfort her, he would encourage it. That whole team had the horrible tendency to repress their feelings, so any opportunity they took to actually talk to each other could only benefit them.

Throwing one more dirty glare at Evergreen - who Natsu had heard utter a rather nasty comment about his partner (former partner) - he took off in the same direction Erza had, easily jumping over the splintered wood that was once the door.

He heard Laki complaining about the damage as he left the hall.

* * *

It took him quite a while to catch up with Erza, as she was moving pretty fast, but eventually her scent lead him through town on a somewhat familiar path he couldn't quite place.

When he found her, he realized why. He'd ended up at Erza's favorite bakery. When he finally caught sight of the scarlet-haired requip mage through the shop window, he briefly wondered why she would be there when all the other shops on this street had closed already.

He studied the scene inside for a moment, trying to decide whether or not to go through with his plan to ask Erza about her encounter with Lucy. He could hear her muffled shouting through the closed door, something about how 'she insists' on being provided with a cake. The response sounded a whole lot like an apology for not having… strawberry cake… available... Natsu shrank back, face turning a sickly shade of white…

Getting in the way of Erza's cake was more dangerous than taking on a dark guild by yourself with both hands tied behind your back.

Hearing the situation was almost enough for him to give up and walk away.

Almost.

He changed his mind when he heard the trembling in Erza's now much louder voice through the shop door. '_Shit. She's upset…'_

Fully prepared to lose his life, Natsu stepped into the shop, the little bell on the door alerting the occupants to his entry. One of which looked at him terrified, and the other who looked at him with narrowed eyes and a dangerous aura. He gulped.

"H-Hey, Erza…"

Instead of committing murder, like he thought she would do, Erza just… broke down. Her face crumpled and tears started streaming out of her good eye, as soft sobs escaped her and her shoulders slumped.

Nastu was not prepared for how heart wrenching and horrible it would be to witness Erza Scarlet cry. He placed a hand on her shoulder, cautiously.

He turned his attention to the shopkeeper, who still looked terrified, stuttering and mumbling nonsense about not having any strawberry cake. He wasn't looking at them, almost like he believed if he didn't see them he might make it out of the encounter alive.

Natsu quietly questioned the short man with the tall chef's hat behind the counter, stepping between him and Erza as he released the red head's shoulder. He looked through the cakes in the glass display and pointed to one with white frosting that looked appetizing, or at least it looked like something Erza would eat.

"You don't have strawberry, I know," he said before the man could explain why Erza was upset, "What is this kind?"

Stuttering, the man replied, "T-th-thats.. That o-one i-is van-vanilla, s-sir. I-I've got some e-extra st-strawberry filling I could w-wrap up f-for you. I'm s-sure it would g-go together nicely…"

The dragon slayer glanced at Erza, who had surprisingly not murdered him when he stepped between her and cake. Somehow, that only made him worry more.

He looked back to the store owner. "Yeah, I think we will take that cake and the container of filling, if that's okay?"

The man rushed away, thankful to have an excuse to walk away from the counter to get the order ready.

Natsu strolled back to the door of the shop and flipped the little chained sign on it from "Open" to "Closed", knowing that most likely the shop was closed, but the poor man was clearly too afraid to get near Erza to flip the sign himself.

Finding nothing else he could distract himself with, he shifted his attention back to his long-time friend, "Erza. You alright?"

The tears on her face had slowed to a stop, but she still looked devastated and her face was still damp from her tears. The pain in her eyes was plain as day. He moved toward her and placed a hand on her shoulder once more, squeezing it in reassurance but not saying anything else.

They stood there like that for a while, silently waiting for the cake to be ready.

Natsu let go of her shoulder when the man indicated that the food was packed up in the plastic bag he placed on top of the display counter. He paid for the items and grabbed th bag by it's handles, gently pulling it from the counter and handing it to Erza.

Pushing her out the door gently, making sure she'd exited the shop, he faced the baker once again, "Sorry about that, man," he said it quietly, rubbing the back of his neck, "she's had a… rough day."

The old man's face softened a little, and he nodded. He moved his hand in a shooing motion. "Just… make sure Miss Erza makes it home okay. Thanks for switching the sign over!"

Nodding, Natsu stepped out of the shop with a smile and a short wave.

Joining Erza on the sidewalk outside, he grabbed wrist and took off jogging toward the nearest park. "Come on, Erza! You're sharing that cake!" he said cheerily.

Her eyes flashed at that as she fell into a slow jog behind him, moving carefully so as to avoid jostling her cake.

She didn't share cake. Why would he ever think she would?

Thinking over the last few minutes, she sighed. She did probably owe him.

"Fine. Only a bite or two, though, do you understand?"

Natsu just laughed and continued leading the way.

They arrived at the park a few minutes later, and Natsu released her arm as they made their way to one of the picnic tables set up under a large tree.

It was evening now, and fall, so it was somewhat chilly and they could see the stars coming out through the bare tree branches. They took seats across from each other, Erza beginning the process of removing the cake from the carry-out bag. She noticed with gratitude that the old baker had tossed in plates, napkins, and disposable flatware with the food. '_I'll have to thank him next time for being so thoughtful… If he will allow me back into his establishment…' _her cheeks colored with shame at the thought.

If she didn't know he was already closing up shop, she'd march right back there and request he hit her for her rudeness.

Shaking the thoughts off, she sliced a tiny portion of cake for Natsu, set it carefully on a plate, and slid it to him across the table.

She didn't bother slicing a piece for herself, instead deciding it was likely easier to skip the middleman and just eat out of the box.

They sat in silence for a while, as they both nibbled at the food. Erza was nearing the halfway point with the cake before Natsu finally spoke up.

"So…. You gonna tell me what happened?"

He asked it as casually as he could, but Erza stiffened at the reminder of the conversation she'd had earlier.

While she wasn't mad at him for asking, she didn't really want to talk about it. Especially since she was well aware that Natsu cared deeply for Lucy. Everyone was well aware he cared deeply for her. Or at least, he cared for the Lucy he thought her to be.

She honestly had trouble believing it herself, the fact that their favorite celestial mage had been lying to them for years. That she was somehow a traitor, and that she'd use them for so long just to find out some secret she thought the guild was hiding. Lucy, she had always been so kind and compassionate that it was hard to reconcile the girl they thought they knew with the one who was sitting in the guild infirmary now.

Erza was even fairly certain that the celestial mage had a hand in Jellal's sudden change of heart about relationships and allowing himself happiness. And Erza had seen her firsthand, several times over, risking herself to save the lives of her friends. Sometimes even to save the lives of strangers. She just couldn't make it make sense.

At the same time though, the Lucy she knew would never lie to her. Let alone the entire guild.. She had a deep-set belief that the truth was more important than almost anything else, and that promises were never to be broken. _That _Lucy would never hurt her friends by lying to them about something like this.

Erza knew that when she had spoken to the woman through the door, she was clearly showing signs of distress (though she wouldn't admit that out loud). If Lucy could hear the pained sound of her voice and still confirm her treachery, it had to be true. There wasn't anything in the world that would have prevented _their Lucy - _the one they'd always thought she was - from comforting her friend when she had needed comfort so very badly.

"Erza." Natsu's voice cut through her thoughts and she looked up. His voice wasn't quite as easygoing as it had been, she could hear the frustration in it when he spoke to her.

Sighing, she set her fork down and crossed her arms over her middle, like it would protect her from the pain she was feeling. It didn't, but her arms remained there.

She spoke softly, knowing Natsu could hear her anyway, "It's all true" she confirmed sadly.

Natsu's eyes went wide, knowing what she was referring to. And he didn't believe it, "No way…" he said, almost whispering, "There's gotta be some other explanation".

Erza sighed again, shaking her head, "Natsu. I don't want to believe it either. But... I talked to her."

The fire mage was clearly tense, his own arms crossed over his chest and his face set in a scowl, "You must have misunderstood her, Erza. You've gotta be wrong."

In that moment, Erza wanted nothing more than for that to be true. The pain etched in Natsu's eyes was nearly too much for her to bear.

Instead of arguing with the fire slayer, she just looked at him. Trying to convey her own feelings without saying them aloud. She didn't want it to be true. She was sorry that it was. She knew it didn't make sense.

He met her eyes for several silent minutes before finally slumping down and dropping his hands to his lap. In all the years she'd known the man, she'd never seen him look so defeated.

"...Was she alright?"

The question threw the requip mage for a loop. This was not the direction she thought the conversation was going to go.

"I believe so, yes," Erza responded after recovering her shock, her tone had gone formal. The voice she used when talking to or about those she disliked.

It was Natsu's turn to sigh, dropping his elbows onto the tabletop and his head in his hands. He sounded pained, "I just don't get it. I _know _her, Erza. She's family. She's always done what was right, usually even when I didn't want to. Up until now, everything she's ever done has led me to believe she's trustworthy. _What is happening? I don't understand... " _

Erza watched as he fell apart before her. His shoulders shook. She couldn't hear his sobs, but she could see the tears fall to the table through his hands. Her heart broke for him, and for herself. This all seemed like some bizarre nightmare, and she just couldn't figure out what to do about it.

Seeing Natsu, the toughest person she knew, reduced to tears made her want to march right back to the infirmary and beat the blonde girl to death for the pain she caused.

That thought hurt too, though, because Lucy was as close as Erza had ever gotten to a sister. She loved her, even know she could _feel _that she still cared, and it only made things worse. Feeling this overwhelming _anger _at the person she loved was tearing her to little pieces inside.

"I'm just so _confused!" _Natsu shouted, head lifted to the sky. He'd given up on hiding behind his hands. He wasn't talking to Erza anymore, now he was calling to the stars that his best friend summoned, looking for some kind of answer. Some explanation. He found himself hoping one of those constellations would _show up _and just _tell him what the fuck was going on. _

Of course, none of them did.

"The only explanation for Lucy's actions to date is that she was trying - and succeeding - to gain our trust. I know it's hard to believe, " she wiped at her own teary eye, "She told me it was all true, Natsu. And... And she sounded _proud _of it. Like she was happy she'd succeeded in fooling me for all this time. That she was glad we were hurting."

Erza cleared her throat, "I don't get it either, but I can't see how the person I have come to know would do anything like this, no matter what the reason. It's honestly easier to believe she really was using us than to believe that Lucy would hurt me intentionally."

Natsu struggled to pull himself together. He listened to Erza's words, and he couldn't help but agree. Which only made it worse. After several moments wrestling with his own emotions, he stood. It had been quite a while since they'd met in the cake shop, it had to be getting pretty late. He pointed this out to Erza.

She began gathering the remaining cake and put it back in the bag while Natsu discarded his used plate and their plasticware in the nearest trash can. Saying goodbye, she stood up and pulled him roughly into a hug, knocking his head against her hard armor.

"Natsu! Erza!"

They turned at the voice, Erza finally releasing Natsu so he could rub at the bump on his head. A worried-looking Happy was flying above two men, all three of them approaching the picnic table.

Erza greeted them, forcing a half hearted smile to her face, "Jellal, Gray, Happy. What are you all doing out here so late?"

They all expected Natsu to pick a fight with Gray, since he'd stepped within the 10 feet of the fire mage, but he just stood quietly, his focus directed at the stars.

"We were worried you'd killed Natsu when you guys didn't come back to the guild. Happy checked your house and didn't see you, so we came looking," the ice wizard answered them, looking first toward Erza, then to Natsu.

The red head nodded. "No, everything's fine," she said, lying through her teeth. They all knew that nothing was as it should be.

Jellal grabbed her hand and, noticing the logo on the plastic bag sitting on the table, grabbed that too. "Let's head to my place, Erza. I'll make you some tea to go with your cake."

He then pulled her along, away from the others and down the street. He waved in goodbye to the two men and the blue cat, shouting something about seeing them at the guild hall in the morning.

Gray turned to his pink-haired comrade, who was still staring at the sky above, looking more furious by the second. He gripped his shoulder. Natsu didn't react in the slightest, like he didn't even notice.

Gray squeezed a little tighter, getting the fire wizard's attention, "Look, man, they aren't going to come down here and talk to you just because you're glaring at their constellations."

Natsu shrugged him off. "Yeah. You're right. I'm gonna go see Luce. _Lucy." _He repeated her name, realizing he no longer cared to refer to her by the nickname he'd been calling her for years. He stomped down the street, still upset and confused, and so very _angry. _

Gray fell in step beside him, casually folding his arms behind his head. "I'd stop you but there's really no point."

Happy landed on Natsu's shoulder as they walked, and all three of them threw glares into the sky. Looking for answers from the stars they'd once called allies.

* * *

Jellal dragged his girlfriend back to his house on the edge of town. He wasn't far from Fairy Hills, which made it pretty convenient to see Erza frequently. Not that he was allowed to go visit her there, but it made it more convenient for her to go to his house when her beloved stash of armor and swords weren't far away. She'd even started a small stash of the stuff in his basement. He didn't care at all, and in fact had been trying to encourage her to move _all _her stuff in and just live there, but she'd refused more than once. She had her "honor" to uphold, after all.

They approached his well-kept two story home hand in hand, both having been silent the whole walk.

"So you've come to the conclusion that Makarov is telling the truth about Lucy?" Jellal inquired, sounding rather sad and not looking her in the eyes.

Erza couldn't help but smile slightly at her boyfriend, despite the pain she was feeling. He read her so easily that she rarely had to struggle to tell him something. She never had to worry about him not understanding her.

"Yes, unfortunately. I just don't see a way around it… You should have heard her, Jellal... ,' she trailed off. The things Lucy had said to her were cruel enough that she had no desire to discuss them. No desire to speak them aloud again.

He squeezed her hand gently before letting go to unlock and open the door. He entered first, feeling around for foreign magic out of habit, and then stepped aside to let her in. She followed him, grabbed the cake he'd been carrying, and walked straight past him to the kitchen. Opening the silverware drawer without hesitation, she grabbed two forks and sat down at small, two-person kitchen table. She crossed her legs, looking thoughtfully at the cake bag in front of her, and offered the fork to the open air beside her.

Catching on, Jellal grabbed the fork and sat down across from her as she began - once again - opening up the cake box. She didn't even bother cutting out a piece for Jellal, he could just eat from the other side.

Across from her, Jellal studied her expressions while sifting through his own emotions. He took only a few bites of cake before deciding he did not have an appetite, and he set his fork down.

Placing his elbow on the table and resting his chin against his fist, he simply closed his eyes and waited for Erza to finish her cake. He wanted to make sure she was okay and that he was there waiting for her if she wanted to talk.

They were quiet for quite some time, comfortable together without words, but mostly lost in their own thoughts.

Jellal kept thinking about that day Lucy had kicked his ass into gear and all but punched some sense into his melancholy brain.

He'd gone after a dark guild on his own shortly after joining Fairy Tail, and had gotten distracted by one of their mages. The guy could read thoughts and make you relive your worst memories - quite a bad matchup for the heavenly body mage, who lived his life constantly consumed by self-loathing.

Luckily Lucy was nearby, taking a break from the train to check out the magic shops in town when she'd heard one of the dark mages bragging about how they'd captured a blue-haired former wizard saint with a funny tattoo on his face and had been holding him for a week. The dark mage that blabbed had found himself in the custody of some rune mages about an hour later, having given up the location of their guild hall to a 'terrifying blonde cheerleader'. When Bickslow had heard that story, he laughed heartily, saying something about how his nickname was justified (Jellal didn't really get it, but at the time he'd enjoyed watching Lucy kick him across the hall).

He still remembered the look on Lucy's face when she'd found him bruised and bloodied in a cell with anti-magic cuffs on his wrists - as the dark guild still hadn't decided what they were going to do with him after debating for a full week. She'd been absolutely furious. That was the first time he'd ever really understood why so many people in the guild and outside it, had feared 'Scary Lucy'.

Despite himself, he smiled a little at the memory. It was so abnormal to see that expression on her face, even now he had a hard time picturing it. At the time, it had scared him. More than he'd like to admit.

Despite the fact that she'd - very wisely - decided to sneak into the guild to get him out discreetly, she decided she wasn't going to leave them be. After freeing Jellal and making sure his life wasn't in danger she handed him off to Loke - the lion spirit having opened his own gate to help out when he realized she was in the middle of a dark guild without backup. In her rage and without regard for the fact that it would be _much _safer to just escape, she summoned Taurus, Gemini (who transformed into Natsu), and Capricorn without hesitation and decided to single-handedly explain to the dark guild he'd been trapped in why Team Natsu had always had such a destructive reputation.

He thought about that day every once in a while, even now. It always amazed him how her magic in and of itself was practically the embodiment of family, friendship, and teamwork. After that lecture she'd given him, his life had completely changed. He just couldn't figure out how that person, who'd exhausted herself without second thought just to save someone she barely knew, was in fact only spying on the guild to get some sort of information. It just didn't add up to him.

"Jellal"

His attention snapped to Erza, who was still sitting opposite him, watching him carefully. The cake was gone now, the only remnants being a few lines of icing still lining the bottom of the box.

"Hmm?" Jellal hummed.

"It was Lucy, am I correct?"

Thoroughly confused, he looked Erza in the eye and arched a brow. "What do you mean?"

Sighing, she relaxed her shoulders and uncrossed her legs, dropping her chin to rest on her forearms on the table. "It was Lucy. She was the one who convinced you to stop punishing yourself and ask me out, right?"

He smiled sadly, looking at her exhausted form. "Yeah, it was. How'd you know?"

He had never told her about that conversation, or about Lucy rescuing him from that dark guild. She had been on a somewhat easy mission, but had taken it without telling Natsu and had asked him not to spill the beans to anyone so she could complete it without interference. By the time she got back, he just hadn't felt the need to share.

Sighing, he stood and grabbed the now-dirty cutlery and the empty box and cleaned up while he waited for Erza's response.

"She's the only one I know that can convince someone they are worthy of being redeemed when they don't believe it themselves. That's just who she is." Erza frowned, "Well. I guess that's who she wanted us to _think _she was," She rubbed her temples, "Besides, it's obvious you're also upset about this whole thing."

Erza stood up now, too. She requipped into pajama shorts and a soft tank-top, approaching her blue-haired boyfriend and wrapping her arms around his waist in the middle of the kitchen. She laid her head on his chest and breathed deeply, listening to his beating heart.

"Honestly," she felt the rumble in his chest as he spoke, "I thought I was hiding it pretty well."

She chuckled, quietly, at that statement. She pulled back, looking into his eyes, "Don't worry, love. I'm certain I'm the only one who can tell."

Jellal hummed sadly, removing one of his arms from her shoulders and placing it on her head, pulling her closer and pressing her face into his chest once more. He rested his chin on her temple. "I just can't figure out how we are supposed to see Lucy as an enemy. I owe her everything. If it hadn't been for her, I'd still be that miserable, foolish man who refused to allow himself to be happy with the love of his life," he sighed heavily and moved his head to bury his face in Erza's hair, "But if you believe this to be true, I do as well. I keep thinking there is more to it, but at this point we can't trust her regardless."

"She's being expelled tomorrow, Jellal," he could feel her tears falling onto his shoulder, soaking into his shirt, "I am not sure how things are going to be without her."

He broke their embrace and grabbed her arm, pulling her toward the stairs, "We will deal with it tomorrow, love. Let's get some rest."


	15. Chapter 15

**I do not own Fairy Tail or Desna's Pradesh Characters**

**Please rate and review!**

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Finding sleep impossible after all the rest she'd gotten over the two previous days, Lucy sat in her infirmary bed as the evening hours turned into early morning. It wasn't yet light out, just after one o'clock according to the analog clock on the wall opposite her. Sitting cross-legged on the bed, a book propped up against a larger stack of books in front of her, she continued reading and planning to distract herself from the fact that in little more than six hours, she'd be leaving her guild.

She planned to head to Sabretooth first - she had to warn Yuki about the guild if they were after Zodiac Keys. She knew Makarov would insist she meet up with Gildarts after that, but where? She had to find somewhere she could easily hide - she'd couldn't let Fallen Star (Oh, she has _got _to come up with something else to call them) find her before she was ready.

Thinking over all the possible places she could train, while still reading up on the encyclopedia she held in her hands that covered little-known celestial spells, Lucy found herself unable to focus.

Her mind slowly wandered away from her planning and jumped into memory recall. She couldn't help but sigh as she recalled the moment she'd gotten her guild mark.

Giving it up as a bad job, she closed her reading material. Instead, she found herself staring at that little pink mark on her hand, thinking about how mad she'd been when Natsu called her 'Luigi'.

She was still, to this day, convinced he did it just to frustrate her.

She remembered the first time she met Gray, and he asked her politely if he could 'please borrow her underwear'. She snorted to herself, finding it impossible not to smile when she thought about it.

She remembered how absolutely awestruck she'd been when Erza walked in the guild in all her glory, and how outclassed she'd felt when Mira suggested she tag along with the unlikely trio that had just decided to chase after Lullaby. How she was sure Natsu would die when they returned because he'd challenged Erza to a fight.

She remembered how everyone had fought for her when her abusive father had recruited a rival guild to 'bring her home'. Or in other words, when she was tortured by a man she now called kin.

She smiled, thinking about Gajeel. She still had a scar or two from that encounter, but the person he was now just made her heart soar. Steadfast, honest, sarcastic but extremely loyal and incredibly brave. She couldn't help but wonder what would have happened to him if he hadn't joined the guild.

She couldn't help but wonder what would have happened if _she _hadn't joined the guild. Would she be a slave to a man her father deemed worthy of his business? Would she be pregnant with babies she didn't want, in a marriage she despised, to a man that disgusted her? Or would she have even made it that far? Would she be dead and buried, having experienced her father's lack of restraint one too many times to recover from?

She couldn't help but wonder what would happen to her now that the very guild that saved her became another part of her painful past.

That sobering thought had her worried. The support Fairy Tail gave her was the only reason she was still alive, she was sure. Would she be okay without it?

Pushing those doubts aside, she reminded herself that, one: she was protecting the guild that had protected her, and two: she wouldn't be truly alone, and three: Fairy Tail was still going to be her support. Most of them just wouldn't know.

Lucy convinced herself that she would be okay. That she had to be, because it was her turn to be the protector.

The celestial felt as though she was teetering on the edge of insanity, and had been since the moment those horrendous wizards had stepped foot into her home. She spent her time balancing between utter and overwhelming despair at leaving her friends and family behind, and the strong and unyielding determination she had to take action and protect them at any cost. She felt sorry for herself, but at the same time, knew that no matter how much pain she was in, she would protect Fairy Tail and it's members at the expense of her own happiness. Her own life, even.

And, truth be told, she felt marginally grateful that Erza was the only person she'd had to confront. As it was now very, very early in the morning, she was almost certain she would be able to get away with not hurting Natsu so badly that he would never forgive her. That she wouldn't have to face Gray, and the disappointment resting on his brooding face, the hurt and betrayal in his cold eyes.

Thank Mavis for small favors.

She made the decision that, since the beginning of her journey was planned, she needed to at least _try _to sleep so she could make it to Sabretooth mostly intact the following day. Lucy had requipped Virgo's key and called her to return the reference materials to Crux when she heard it.

Footsteps on the stairs. Footsteps that she'd recognize anywhere.

Was it weird that she knew Natsu so well that she recognized even the _way he walked?_

She wasn't sure, but she knew it was heartbreaking. Because she knew everything about the man approaching her door. And she knew, without a doubt, this was the moment she would be forced to break his heart, and his trust. This was the moment she would lose him for good.

And she had _just _accepted that she wouldn't have to face him.

Oh well. It wouldn't be the first (or the last, for that matter) time that she was wrong. At least Gray wasn't with him.

Lucy quickly dismissed Virgo, who disappeared in a flash of gold with her reference materials after pushing her bag underneath the infirmary bed, and walked slowly to face the still-splintered door.

She stood stock still, staring at the door. Wishing he would just go away before she had to cause him more pain.

"I know you're awake, the light is on…"

No such luck, then. She sighed, frowning.

"I can hear you in there, Luce-_Lucy_. You can't hide from me." She could hear the quiet anger in his voice building with each word, and felt as though an arrow had launched into her heart when he stopped himself from using her nickname. '_Ouch… '_

Lucy was an author. She knew words could hurt, she just never realized how much.

"Open this fucking door and _face_ me, Heartfilia. Before I burn it down."

At the sound of her last name falling so coldly from his lips, she felt herself crumple inside.

Instead of falling into depression like she wanted to (like she oh so desperately wanted to), she squared her shoulders and reinforced the iron cage she'd been building around her heart.

Using his anger to fuel her hope that she'd be able to pull off the deception she'd planned, she took slow measured steps to the door. He must have heard her them, because he didn't say anything further, just waited (probably impatiently) while she grabbed the doorknob and turned it.

Freed's magic shocked her painfully as a warning and flashed purple, but it allowed the motion. His runes didn't stop her from opening the door, it stopped her from leaving and others from entering. She'd avoided opening the door with Erza because she couldn't bear to see her. She couldn't bear to see Natsu either, but he had insisted. And he, of all people, deserved to face her directly.

The door fell open slowly, and Lucy looked into the angry eyes of who would always be her best friend and partner. Even if she wouldn't be his anymore.

"Natsu." She wanted to call out to him desperately, but instead forced her voice to into an almost monotone expression of disdain.

He looked her over, a frown marring his normally cheerful face. He took in her injuries, starting from the scar where her leg had been broken, up to the scars and still angry red gashes along her arms, and finally up to her missing eye and the large mark splitting her features. His own eyes widened, and for a moment she saw concern and sadness flicker across his features.

She was glad when it passed, because seeing that expression on his face would have likely killed her resolve. She was also glad most of her wounds were covered by her T-shirt and pajama shorts, or that expression would surely have lingered.

His features now carefully rearranged into disappointment and anger, he greeted her.

"Lucy."

His greeting was as cold as hers had been, and while it was _good, _she needed him not to try following her or to retain his care for her, it felt like Alec's sword was plunging into her heart.

Focusing as much as she could on Natsu's anger, she channeled her own. It wasn't directed at Natsu, but she could pretend it was. Probably.

She forced herself into a persona she wasn't comfortable with: indifferent, angry, and bitter at the world. She found it a little too eerily similar to who she had been at the Konzern, who she'd been expected to be. She detested that, but it would do the job, so she'd work with it.

She sighed grumpily at the pink-haired man through the barrier, and sat down cross-legged on the floor carefully, wincing just slightly when the pain of her broken leg bone aggravated her. It was fixed now, but magical healing wasn't perfect, especially for bones. She'd likely have these phantom pains for weeks. She'd just ignore it.

Natsu followed her lead, falling into the same position as she did and leaning against the wall opposite the door opening. They studied each other for a few moments, silently glaring.

It was Natsu who broke the stillness first, "Is it true?"

"Idiot. Of course it is," Lucy scoffed. In her mind protesting with everything she had, begging him not to believe her, "I told that pathetic red head the same thing. Why do you all keep asking such stupid fucking questions?"

Natsu's frown deepened, "Because it's hard to believe."

Lucy crossed her arms angrily and huffed. "I swear this whole gods-damned guild is a glorified gathering place for clinically-diagnosable dumbasses. How you have powerful secrets at all _truly _confounds me. You're all powerful wizards, yeah, but you're just so _stupid," _she rolled her eyes, crossing her arms over her chest and smirking slightly, "I was _playing _you".

The pink-haired dragon slayer was fuming. His glare intensified and Lucy could see flames licking at his hands that were clutching the fabric of his pants, "Right," he growled out, "You said. But tell me something, Lucy. How can you sit there and lie right to my face?"

Lucy's eyes widened for half a second before she reigned herself in, refusing to let him drag the truth out of her. She _had _to protect him, even if it killed her.

"What the fuck are you talking about?"

"You heard me. I think you're lying. And I don't know why, but it's _pissing me off._"

Lucy loved that he believed in her. That he knew her well enough to know this was a lie. But she couldn't allow it. His life could depend on him believing those lies, and so despite hating herself for doing it, she doubled down. She pulled every ounce of stubborn will she had and poured all of it into her denial.

"Listen, Natsu," she began, showing a quiet anger normally only reserved for Scary Lucy.

"I don't know what kind of _feelings _you have going on in that head of yours, but you're seriously deluded if you think you mean anything to me. If you think you have _ever _meant anything to me. I was here to get secrets that only trusted members have access to, and I used you to get there. It was _easy, _since you were so very broken up about your precious Igneel leaving you," she sneered, "guess he did us both a favor when he left, huh? He got to be rid of you, and left me a nice little empty spot in your life to worm my way into. Without any trouble, I might add."

Natsu's eyes were wide, hurt, and it was killing her. She didn't stop, though.

"If I'm being honest here, I'm just angry at myself that I focused on using _you_ to get the information I wanted, when it's so clear that you'll never be trusted enough member of this… _fine… _guild to have any sort of answers at all. I shouldn't have focused my efforts on someone so _weak."_

She pushed her hair over her shoulder before returning her attention to her best friend, "Huh, I get it now. No wonder my guild considered this mission a failure and scrapped it. Lesson learned, I guess."

'_And there goes my heart shattering into a million pieces…' _Lucy nearly sobbed outright in front of him. She wanted so badly to throw her arms around him and beg for forgiveness.

But he deserves more than that. He deserves to be protected, after all this time he's been the protector.

And she would protect him until her last day, even if he hated her for it.

Natsu's anger disappeared as Lucy's words sank into his mind. She expected an explosion - literally - but all she saw was a man completely and totally broken. Wounded. And somehow, that was worse, because it wasn't _Natsu._

She had used everything she knew as his best friend against him. His insecurity and pain at the loss of Igneel. His frustration at still not being stronger than Gildarts and Laxus and Erza. His feelings of inadequacy at his intelligence, as she knew that despite his cheery attitude, the fact that most of his friends saw him as 'stupid' or 'idiotic' bothered him on some level, even if he denied it. And even his feelings for her, his best friend, she turned against him. That kind of pain was something only _she _could inflict on him, because he'd opened up to her and trusted her more than anyone in the world.

And just like his birth parents, and just like Igneel, she'd betrayed him.

Lucy couldn't possibly have hated herself more in that moment, as she watched Natsu's face turn from anger into pure, soul-crushing grief.

Quietly, Natsu stood. He didn't look at her again. He probably couldn't. He just turned on his heel and walked back toward the main hall without another word. She thought she was going to sob as she watched him leave, she certainly wanted to. But she held herself in check, because she felt that smallest amount of relief.

She'd convinced him. He'd be safe.

And she didn't have a single doubt that she'd just gotten through the single most painful experience she would ever have to endure in her entire life, so it could only improve from there. She held onto that belief with everything she had left.

Until movement in the darkened hallway Natsu had disappeared down caught her attention. And she saw Gray walking hesitantly into her line of sight.


	16. Chapter 16

**Hello Readers!**

**I hope you like this next installment! It's one of my favorite moments in the story so far - in a super depressing kind of way - so I hope I was able to capture it the way it is in my head.**

**Please review! Reviews literally make my whole week, so don't be shy! **

**On another note, I got good feedback on a 'pilot' story I did so I'm going to be using that as the starting point for my second multi-chapter fiction. It's called 'Major Problems' and you can find it on my page. Don't worry, this is still my priority but the other is going to be updating semi-regularly as well. If you haven't noticed, I'm somewhat obsessed with Lucy being a stronger character, and she is my favorite character, so most of my stories revolve around her - you've been warned.**

**Thank you so much for reading the stories that hop around in my head all day! **

**Enjoy!**

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Laxus was her big brother, overprotective, strong, dependable - family in a way she hadn't really had since her mother passed. The kind of brother you strove to impress, the kind of brother you would do anything just to make proud. Not one you would show your weakest self to.

Erza was a sibling just the same, more overprotective than even Laxus was, but almost inaccessible for Lucy, or at least she thought that sometimes. So determined not to get hurt again that she made herself invulnerable. She didn't let anyone truly see her, so Lucy couldn't burden her with her own suffering, couldn't let herself be vulnerable around her.

Natsu was her best friend, and was so overabundantly cheerful that she couldn't allow herself to be dark around him. She hated the way he looked at her when she was sad, like he was upset with himself for not being able to fix it.

But Gray… Gray was cool and contained and he'd seen enough of the worst parts of the world to know that things don't always go the way they should. He was the brother that she could be herself with - even when that person was pessimistic and tired and depressed - and he with her. Two somewhat-normal people in the sea of insanity that was Fairy Tail, despite the fact that when they met he had unashamedly asked to borrow her underwear.

That's probably why Gray was the only one who knew about Aquarius. Why he was the only one she had trusted with the knowledge of her failure, and of her guilt over having sacrificed the woman who practically raised her because she wasn't strong enough.

And that's probably why, when she saw him hesitantly stepping into the hall, her heart nearly stopped beating altogether. She couldn't do this.

As Gray walked into view, he was greeted with a blank look on the usually open face of the person he thought he'd always be able to count on.

She sat on the floor, her legs crossed under her, unmoving and focused on some unidentified spot on the wall in front of her. He took one look at her and he knew, he _knew, _it was still Lucy. Still that wonderfully compassionate, loving girl (well, woman now) that had come to be his best and truest friend.

Shuffling forward, he took a moment to occupy the space that Natsu had just vacated.

They both sat silently for a while, Lucy studiously ignoring him and studying the wally, while he studied her. She knew he was there, obviously, but she didn't say anything. Her expression remained indifferent, blank, empty and devoid of life. He'd have accepted her for dead if it weren't the occasional flick of her remaining eye to study some other meaningless speck on the wall, or the slight rise and fall of her chest as she breathed unsteadily in and out.

After a long moment, she finally addressed her guest, "What do you want?"

He couldn't tell for sure, but she sounded almost ashamed. Apologetic. She'd said it rather rudely, but it didn't hide the emotion lingering beneath the surface. Not from him, she never could hide anything from him. He looked at her closely once more, as she finally turned her deadened gaze to his to look him in the eye.

"There's more to this than you're letting on." Gray stated plainly. No point in beating around the bush. It wasn't a question, it was simply stating a fact.

She looked at him blankly and shook her head, denying the words he knew to be true, but finding herself somehow unable to voice her denial out loud. Internally, she was disgusted with herself for the lie to the one person she'd never lied to, even superficially.

"Don't give me that bullshit." Another statement.

Gray watched as Lucy bit her lip across from him, her tell. She had never done it while speaking with him, she never lied to him. He'd seen it a million times, though, when she told Natsu or Erza or Levy, or even Happy, that she was 'fine'.

Maybe, if Gray had been here before Natsu, before she'd torn open her own heart and Natu's, she'd have been stronger. Maybe if he had come before Erza had stomped away crying and angry, she would have been able to protect him too. Maybe it would have all been fine, but as it was? She couldn't do it. She was too raw, too hurt, and the bond they shared was too important - Lucy felt like if she turned Gray away in this moment, than she would actually physically die. She'd been tortured more times in her life than she'd like to remember, the most recent being _that very week, _but somehow the thought of lying to him, here and now, was a million times more unbearable than even the worst torture.

She'd sooner gouge out her own, and only remaining, eye.

"Lucy…" Gray was sitting across from her still, and instead of the frustration he'd held on his face moments before. Now, he simply looked hopelessly sad.

He saw her struggling internally. Saw the tears lining her eye, just _barely _refusing to fall. He saw it all, as he always did, "You don't have to say it, Lu. Just nod. There's something more, right?"

She did everything she could to summon the last of her abandoned courage, to do what needed to be done to protect him, to allow him to hate her so that he could move on and be safe. But it was no use. He'd just thrown her a lifeline, and she was tired of drowning.

The tears she had sworn to herself she wouldn't cry anymore spilled down her cheek as she nodded, just barely. Giving in to the utter sadness that was leaving her family behind, the despair she felt at having been the cause of their suffering, the total unfairness of the world for making her the target for yet another dark agenda, she allowed her tears to stain her injured face as she dropped her head into her hands.

Looking back up, she saw tears spring to Gray's eyes in response as well. There was a little hope on his face, now, but mostly he looked heartbroken. She prayed to the spirit king and anyone else listening that he would believe in her enough to let her do what she vowed to do. That he would leave the issue alone, protect himself and their guildmates, and understand why she had to do it alone.

He spoke quietly, his voice sounding like he had already accepted defeat, he continued questioning her.

"There's nothing I can do to change your mind, is there?"

Lucy shook her head, wiping tears from the good side of her face. She looked deep into the saddened eyes of her companion as his tears spilled over as well.

"It… It's important? Whatever you're going off to do alone?"

She nodded in confirmation.

"Master and Laxus, they know about it? Or are you tricking them too?"

Lucy let out a slightly bitter, quiet chuckle at that. She spoke up, her voice raspy with emotion, "I actually did, kind of. But they know, they're helping me, as much as they can."

Gray was still crying but he let out a laugh of his own, "Why am I not surprised? How'd you manage that?"

Lucy's gave him a small, sly smile, "I promised them I'd do it anyway".

At that, they both laughed quietly and wiped up their drying eyes. It didn't last long, and a few moments later they were just sitting silently again, deep in thought, each studying the other.

Finally, Gray broke the silence, "Can…" he began softly, then cleared his throat, "Can I go with you?" He knew her answer before he even asked the question, but he had to ask. If she'd let him, he'd leave everything here to help her. She was his sister, and he would do anything to keep her safe.

She looked at him with a sad smile. She knew he would ask, and she loved him for wanting to do everything he could for her. Even knowing that it could likely get him killed or seriously injured.

Taking a deep breath, she sighed and shook her head, "No".

He saw the pain she hid behind that little smile, and it tore him up inside. The only reason she wouldn't let him come is if it was extremely dangerous, or it involved her spirits. The look on her face suggested that it was maybe both, and he found himself terrified for her. And for himself, at the prospect of losing her for good.

"Lu," he could barely force himself to ask the last question, but he had to know, "Lu… Are you coming back?"

Seeing her bite her lip and look away at the question, Gray felt his heart constrict painfully. '_No… She can't be serious…There's no fucking way'_

He stood up and took a few steps towards the blonde, cursing the barrier he knew would prevent him from reaching her. He had to stop her somehow, get the information from her and convince her that there was another way-

"I don't know…" Lucy admitted tiredly, interrupting Gray's train of thought. "I-I… I will, if I can. I'm going to fight like hell to come back here."

Standing, ignoring the small remaining ache in her limbs, she looked him in the eyes, "Gray, if there were another way I could see to keep you all safe and stay by your side, I would have taken it. This is what I have to do. Please, please accept that."

Lucy and Gray stood face to face on either side of the rune barrier, both deep in their own dark thoughts. Lucy lifted her hand to the magic wall, and Gray did the same.

They could the warmth of each other's hands through the runic barrier, barely, but enough that it gave them the smallest amount of comfort. They both forced their tears away, refusing to allow themselves more crying over a decision that had already been made. They had both known despair before, they had used each other as a crutch to move past that very emotion, time and again. This was the reality of the situation and they could not change it, so like they always did, they would fight through it.

"Please, Gray," Lucy repeated, needing him to say that he would not interfere. That he would not be in danger from this. That he would trust in her, as he always has.

He nodded, slowly.

"I believe you, Lu. And I believe _in _you. If there was any other way to do this you'd be doing it, I know that. Just, please. Be careful. I don't think I can lose you for good. How will I ever get the courage to tell Juvia how I feel if you aren't around to kick my ass?"

She smiled, then, letting out a small version of her usual giggle, "You just _did _tell Juvia!" she whisper-shouted. Gray blanched and looked around, terrified, waiting for Juvia to pop out of one of her usual hiding spots.

When there was no excited squeaking of a water wizard, Gray turned back and narrowed his eyes on Lucy, "that was uncalled for."

For the first time since this whole thing started, she let out a real laugh. Gray soon followed, in spite of himself.

Lucy shoved on his hand playfully as much as she could through the barrier, receiving an uncomfortable jolt of the magic as she did so, "Get outta here," Lucy said, her face serious once more, but she seemed a little less broken.

Gray sighed and nodded, stepping back. "Yeah, I'm going. Stay safe, yeah?"

Lucy nodded, and as Gray turned to leave, she called after him as quietly as she could while still getting his attention, "I love ya, you know? Don't forget".

He paused for a moment, and spoke, "Yeah, love you too, Lu".

As Gray walked away from the infirmary, he felt his heart breaking at the thought that he may never see his best friend again.


	17. Chapter 17

**Dear Readers:**

**It's been a long time coming, but we are finally approaching the point in which the sad, angsty stuff is less prominent than the happy, Lucy-is-a-badass stuff. Thank you so much for sticking through it! **

**If you want something that's got a little more humor and a lot more snark? Check out 'Major Problems' - my new multi-chapter fic.**

**Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail. Desna owns the Pradesh Family. **

**Enjoy!**

* * *

With everything in him, Gray wanted to run back to that damn infirmary and hold his friend hostage and not let her leave. He hated that she was putting herself in danger, that she was doing it alone. It made him more anxious and disheartened than he ever remembered being.

He felt helpless. If he couldn't help Lucy, what good was he?

Gray clenched his fist, fighting the urge to freeze the whole guild hall in his self-directed frustration. He stopped at the bar, resting his weight against it and taking deep, calming breaths before he had to face anyone else.

After a few moments, he regained his composure. Everything Lucy had done so far, everything she'd sacrificed and every bridge she'd burned would mean nothing if he gave her away because he was too emotional.

'_Lucy… come back safe. I don't know what I'd do with myself if you were gone…' _he thought sadly, looking back over his shoulder and down the hallway toward the infirmary.

He heaved a heavy sigh and released the bartop, scowling at the thin layer of ice coating it where his hand had been. It was, to him anyway, proof that he couldn't control his emotions, and it only served to anger him further.

He shook his head as if to clear dark thoughts from his mind, and arranged his facial features into his typical mask of annoyance and overall indifference. He stepped away from the bar and observed the main hall. It was nearly three in the morning, so he wasn't surprised that no one was there, nor was he surprised at the damage he saw. Natsu caused all that when he was leaving, and Gray couldn't blame the idiot this time.

He could only guess at how harsh Lucy's words had been to him. The guy was dense as hell and loyal to a fault, it would take a lot of convincing for him to actually believe his best friend was a traitor.

He wanted to be disappointed in the pink-haired man, because if _Gray _could see through her, why couldn't her _best friend? _But he just couldn't find it in himself to be angry at Natsu. As close as he was to Lucy, he'd never been able to tell when she was lying - especially not when it was for his sake. Like when she said the stray attack she'd gotten caught it hadn't bothered her. Or when she told him she was 'fine' whenever he asked. Or when he'd asked about the strange tattoo on her collarbone that he'd seen when her clothes got destroyed on a mission, and she'd simply told him she got it while she was drunk and was embarrassed by it, and not to mention it to anyone.

On top of that, there wasn't much Lucy didn't know about her teammates. If she had decided to exploit every vulnerability Gray had ever told her about? He wasn't sure he'd have had the strength of will to see past it, either.

So, no. This time Natsu was excused, in Gray's opinion.

* * *

*Flashback*

_The hall seemed to glow in front of him as a pink-haired figure approached. The glow made more sense when the man stepped out of the hallway leading to the infirmary and Gray saw the flickering of barely contained flame escaping Natsu's body. _

_Seeing the man's face, the ice-mage understood why. His close friend (though he would never admit that they were friends) was out of control, more furious than he'd ever seen him (and that was saying something, the guy was a literal hot-head). Beyond that rage, Gray saw soul-crushing betrayal reflecting deep in his eyes, and it made Gray's own heart plummet._

_He knew in that moment, whatever answers Natsu had gotten out of Lucy, were most definitely not the answers he had been hoping for. Not even close. _

_Gray found himself wanting to approach and comfort his pink-haired friend - an urge he wasn't exactly used to having - but his experience as Natsu's teammate advised strongly against that action, so he held himself back. Even a hand on the guy's shoulder would likely be met with a punch to the face. Likely a flaming one._

_The fire wizard stalked past him angrily, not even taking notice of the ice mage looking at him expectantly, and started punching through any and all of the tables and chairs that found themselves in the unfortunate position of being in his way, as he launched himself straight out the guild entrance without looking back. He left a trail of singed and splintered wood in his wake, some flaming spots that Gray was forced to quickly snuff out with ice magic, lest they burn the whole place to the ground after they'd just spent days making it habitable again._

_The ice wizard watched as Natsu disappeared in the distance, brooding. He wanted his own answers, but wasn't sure he was ready to get them. _

_Freed poked his head in the newly-broken guild doors (good job with that one, Erza) moments later, shooting a questioning look in Gray's direction. For some reason that pissed him off, it wasn't like he had any of the goddamn answers._

"_Don't look at me like that, Freed! Just do your job keeping watch and mind your own business!" It was harsh, likely uncalled for - as Freed hadn't actually said anything at all - but Gray wasn't exactly in a reasonable kind of mood. _

_The green-haired mage squinted his eyes in annoyance at his guildmate, but otherwise made no move to antagonize him. After all, Freed did have some experience in being a friend to someone that had turned their back on the guild. It wasn't exactly a comfortable place to be. Freed, after a moment, did turn back around to resume his careful guard over the mostly empty guild hall. He was silent and didn't peek in again, seeming to accept that saying anything in retaliation, or pushing for some sort of explanation, would likely get him nowhere. _

_Gray, thankful for Freed's acceptance of his behavior, turned around and started up the steps to see Lucy. He thought she was hiding something more, about the whole thing. Something big, if she was willing to hurt both Erza and Natsu this badly to keep it hidden. _

_Or at least he hoped so._

*End Flashback*

* * *

Gray sighed as he walked through the rubble that was once considered furniture. He didn't want to think about who was going to have to keep track of Natsu all day, because the man was not going to be easy to handle. He _really _didn't want to consider who was going to be stuck dealing with Erza's emotional outbursts, or _how _they would manage it.

Actually, it would probably be Jellal, and thinking about it, Gray decided he really didn't want to know the details of _how_ he was going to handle it.

Stepping through the guild doorway, he expected to see Freed still standing watch. Instead, when he glanced over, he spotted Laxus leaning against the wall with his arms crossed over his chest, seemingly bored out of his mind. Though, that was Laxus' default expression, if he really thought about it.

Gray was somewhat surprised that the blonde lightning mage was the one who took over guard duty, as it _was _a pretty menial task. Not the kind of thing normally done by an S-Class mage - let alone the infamously grumpy 'Thunder God'.

Deciding not to question it - and assuming it had to do with the fact that Laxus was of the few people who knew of Lucy's real plans - Gray simply tilted his head at the lightning mage in a silent greeting.

Gray was surprised when, instead of Laxus' signature silence, he received a question in response, "I'm guessing Natsu finally confronted Blondie?"

Though his face was a mask of indifference, and his voice held no real emotion, Gray could tell that Lucy's decision was likely hurting Laxus as much as it was him. Not being able to take action to protect their friends and family? It wasn't a position Fairy Tail mages often found themselves in, and frankly, it didn't sit right.

"Yeah, earlier," Gray answered truthfully after a moment's consideration, "Not sure he's ever going to be the same after all this, if I'm being honest…"

Laxus only grunted in response (which was more typical of the man than conversing with guildmates was), crossing his arms over his muscled chest.

Laxus took a moment to think that through, and he couldn't help but agree. He nodded, conveying as much to Gray. Probably. Laxus wasn't entirely sure how many people understood his method of communication.

Before Lucy, Natsu had been obsessed with finding his dragon father, and had found _very little _time to actually spend with his guild family. That didn't change until he'd dragged (literally) Lucy into the guild and called her 'Luigi' to get her riled up. Once he teamed up with her, he gradually became a true part of the family. Finally started trusting in his family, to the point where trust became something he gave out freely, openly, and to people who had wronged him in the past - likely because he took the cue from Lucy herself.

That trusting nature was likely shattered now, something he was sure would kill Lucy if she realized it.

Glancing around to make sure they were alone, the ice-make mage stepped a little closer to Laxus and spoke in a quiet but firm tone, "Listen. I know there's something more going on here. And I know it's dangerous."

Laxus stared wide-eyed at him, about to deny it, but Gray held up a hand before he could refute him.

"Listen," he continued, "I won't stop her and I won't tell anyone, I owe her that. She trusted me to know about it, so I owe it to her to trust her to come back safe."

The dragon slayer relaxed slightly, and found himself a little surprised by Gray's comments, and the fact that Lucy hadn't been able to lie to him. Though he shouldn't have been surprised, really. Laxus was fully aware that Gray knew things about his kin that he'd never know, it was just the kind of bond the two shared.

"But," Gray spoke up once more, "I need you to know, if anything happens to her I won't forgive you for letting her go through with this. You _or _master. I don't even care that she tricked you, backed you into a corner, whatever. I'm holding you responsible for making sure she comes home."

Though it was most definitely some kind of threat, Laxus didn't feel any ill will toward Gray for it. He felt the same way, honestly. Lucy was important to him, too, and it wasn't like he'd ever forgive himself if something happened to her.

After a few moments of silence, Laxus just nodded toward in Gray's general direction, and for once decided to follow up the motion with actual words, "I'll do everything I can to keep her safe."

Gray accepted this, knowing it was the best that Laxus could promise him, and walked away. He was heading home to try and come to terms with everything.

Laxus watched him leave, realizing for the first time just _why_ Lucy had always seemed so close to the man.

It was consistently Gray who was in her corner when she made an unpopular decision, like taking a solo mission. Or generally behaving like she was an adult who could take care of and protect herself.

Sure, everyone else in the guild would fight to protect Lucy from harm no matter the cost, always. Without question. But Gray would forever be the one mage in the room who had complete faith in Lucy, her plans, her experience, and her abilities. He didn't treat her like glass, or like some princess to be protected. Considering the way Lucy grew up, and how ridiculously overprotective her spirits had always been, he could see why sometimes her guildmate's efforts would chafe.

Even at the cost of her own life, or even his, Gray would help Lucy stay true to herself and her beliefs. Laxus had no doubt that Erza and Natsu would disregard her wishes entirely if it meant keeping her safe, and he'd found himself struggling with that very thought when she'd first told him what she intended to do - when it would mean the cost of her magic if to keep her in the guild.

More often than he'd like to admit since he'd practically adopted her into the family, he'd had to wrestle with himself not to just knock her out and handle her issues for himself. No matter what the issue was. Even if the issue couldn't be solved with his brute strength (which, more often than not, was the case).

Thinking on it, Laxus couldn't help but admire the kind of strength Gray possessed to support someone so completely in a decision like this, when it meant you might lose them. He wasn't sure he'd ever have that kind of faith - not because Lucy wasn't strong, she definitely was, more than she gave herself credit for - but because his fear of losing her if she left his sight was very real.

Laxus found himself feeling grateful that Lucy had someone like Gray to lean on. He was sure it was a large part of how she'd managed to remain so strong in the face of all the losses she'd suffered.

* * *

Lucy cleared the last of her depressing thoughts as she felt the door click closed when she leaned her weight against it.

Though she berated herself for being so weak as to let herself acknowledge her situation to Gray, she felt… oddly stronger. More prepared to do what she needed to do. Gray's faith in her had the tendency to make her feel like she could do anything, and right now she was extremely grateful for it.

And it felt good, now that she's alienated everyone else, knowing that she had at least one more person who knew her real goal. One more person who still cared for her.

If she could come back some day - _if she managed to live that long - _she'd have at least one teammate who'd still love her in spite of everything. Even knowing that she'd lied to him, he didn't hold it against her. It gave her hope, and pushed the last of her lingering doubts away, strengthening her resolve to protect her family.

And she knew, without a doubt in her mind, that Gray would keep her secret. He always had.

She smiled at the thought.

Pushing herself off the door and standing straight, she decided she'd sleep. She'd have to be up in a few hours, but she was going to get whatever amount of rest she could before heading out tomorrow and facing the world alone - or as alone as she could be with her spirits around.

Walking over, she pulled her bag from under the bed, and grabbed some fresh clothes. She wasn't going to have time tomorrow to do anything besides push away more of her close friends, get her guild mark removed, and leave Magnolia for good. She picked up shorts and a long-sleeved navy shirt to change into, and decided she'd just wear them to nap in so she could face the day as soon as she woke up.

She threw the bag back under her bed after changing, and summoned Virgo and Capricorn.

"Lady Lucy"

"Punishment, Princess?"

Rolling her eyes at Virgo's greeting - because she'd literally just done that hours ago - she smiled at her two spirits and asked them for a favor, "I know it's a lot to ask, but can you guys go over to Strawberry Street? I won't have time to pack up tomorrow, and honestly… I don't want to get caught up going through everything. It would only make me sad, and I can't afford to be sad right now… Can you pack up the essentials?"

She'd asked it with desperation in her eyes. She really didn't want to spend time thinking of every memory she had attached to every item in her apartment.

"I'm going to need to move stuff into storage in another town and square things with the landlady, but after tomorrow I won't be welcome in Magnolia anymore, and I just… I don't want to lose all those memories because I couldn't pack, you know?" By the time she finished speaking the smile had dropped off her face and she had turned her single-eyed gaze to her lap, hands hanging limply by her sides.

"Don't worry about it, Lucy," Surprisingly, it was Loke who spoke, having summoned himself. She was so caught up in thinking about her apartment that she hadn't noticed the slight pull on her magic.

"I _told you _to get some rest, Loke…" Lucy growled at the Zodiac leader with no real malice in her words. She had never been one to _order _her spirits to do anything, in her opinion they were friends. This wasn't the military and she wasn't their superior, they were all comrades and they could do as they wished. She just really wanted him to _relax _and _heal._

He only grinned in response and put a hand on her shoulder, ignoring her comment entirely.

"We've got it handled, princess. We will make the arrangements on everything for you, don't worry about a thing except getting prepared for your journey."

Lucy looked to the two spirits she'd _actually _summoned for help, and both nodded in agreement.

Sighing, she relented, "Okay. Thank you. And… I'm sorry for the way I've been acting. You deserve better."

All three spirits smiled, each of them spouting something about how they aren't upset with her, and disappeared - presumably going to her apartment to start their newest task.

She smiled to herself, silently thankful that she was a clean person and that she didn't hide anything embarrassing in her home for them to find.

She shook her head and walked into the bathroom, turning on the steaming water and stepping in after stripping her clothing and remaining bandages. The few bruises, cuts, and burns that hadn't been fully healed stung at the contact, but the heat of the water soothed the sore muscles she'd been dealing with since she woke up, so she wouldn't complain.

She stayed in the shower far longer than she should have, but she just couldn't bring herself to shorten after realizing that she wasn't sure when she'd get the next opportunity to shower. Let alone the next time she'd have access to _hot water _at all. So she took her time.

Finally, when the water ran cold, Lucy sighed and reluctantly exited the shower. She changed into her clothes before climbing into bed with still-dripping wet blonde hair, feeling the exhaustion start to seep in as she brushed through it sleepily.

She felt the drain on her power that meant both Capricorn and Virgo's keys were still active. Though it was strictly speaking, rather stupid for a celestial mage to sleep while maintaining magical gates - lest they never wake up due to magic depletion - Lucy knew her magic reserves wouldn't be depleted for several hours. That, and Lucy wasn't an ordinary celestial mage, her relationship with her spirits was unparalleled. She fully trusted her trusted spirits to go back on their own if they felt her power failing.

They often had a better read on her power than she herself did.

She knew it was dumb, considering she was already maintaining two zodiac gates, but she couldn't stop herself from summoning Plue as well - so she could cuddle him for comfort like she often did when the nightmares kept her from the sweet embrace of sleep. Three gates was a bit much, even with her magic energy slowly increasing over the last few years, but she really didn't care. The chance to actually get a few hours rest was worth the risk, especially considering Plue hardly counted.

Clutching the dog close to her chest - she heard a happily chirped "Puuun-Puunnnnn" from him at the action - she fell into the last bit of restful sleep she'd get for a long time.


	18. Chapter 18

**Dear Readers:**

**As we approach the end of the re-written portion of the story, I find myself wondering if the story is better than the original. Let me know in the reviews?**

**Desna owns the Pradesh Characters, Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail. Sadly, I own nothing.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

"Natsu…" Happy called anxiously after his friend from his spot, hovering on his aera wings just a few feet away.

The pink-haired wizard had been pacing around by their favorite fishing spot for hours, and he'd not stopped flaming since their arrival. The path he was walking back and forth across was charred and… interestingly enough, wet too, as Happy had been forced to continually splash water on it (and Natsu) when the flames started to spread through the grass toward the forest behind them.

The exceed was depressed, had experienced the worst few days of his existence over the last week, and was constantly fighting tears - but he really couldn't focus on that because Natsu needed supervision. Which, though he was upset that he couldn't just deal with his own feelings, was probably a good thing. Happy wasn't sure if his body could handle more tears at this point.

Natsu had been completely oblivious to his words for all the hours they'd been there, and though Happy was used to the dragon slayer's obliviousness, he was worried. He found himself really beginning to wonder if he'd ever get through to the man.

Happy had no idea what Lucy had said to Natsu, but seeing the way he was reacting, the exceed figured it was nothing good. And that just made him depressed all over again, because as much as he teased her, he loved Lucy as much as he did Natsu.

He wondered if he'd ever see his Lushy again. Thinking on it, he believed the answer to that was likely "no", and it saddened him so much that he dropped his wings and fell to his butt on the ground.

"Natsu… Natsu please stop…" Happy begged again, this time basically sobbing.

He couldn't handle it anymore. The only person who could calm the dragon slayer in the state he was in, was Lucy. The few times he'd been close to this bad, Lucy had always come around and made things better.

This time, Lucy wasn't coming over. Not anytime soon, and thinking about that just made things worse. Again. _This, _this is why Happy hates thinking. It's stupid.

Despairing, he activated his wings again and flew to the edge of the lake. He sat back down slowly, crying into his paws. He decided he no longer cared if the dumb forest caught fire from Natsu's uncontrolled magic. It could burn down. Not like it mattered.

Lucy wouldn't yell at them for destroying it, so why bother protecting it?

He sat like that for several minutes, whimpering, before he noticed the heat against his back cooling slightly.

The exceed glanced over his shoulder to see Natsu, brows still furrowed in frustration and confusion, seemingly wrestling with his own magic. He was clearly trying to regain control, for the first time since he'd left the guild hall, but it was slow going.

Slowly but surely, the fire that had been surrounding Natsu for hours started to shrink, drawing closer to his body with each passing minute. After fifteen long, frustrating minutes of deep breathing for the pink-haired wizard, the fire finally fizzled out against his skin and some of his composure returned.

Natsu sighed, his breathing somewhat shaky, as he cracked his knuckles and stretched out his tense muscles. He let out a humorless chuckle and glanced at his exceed partner, "Sorry, little buddy…"

Happy saw his friend try to crack a smile and fail, his features settling into a grimace instead. He rubbed the back of his neck and walked closer to the blue-furred feline, setting himself down cross-legged on the ground a foot away.

The fire mage pulled off his sandals slowly, setting them to the side, and put his feet into the water in front of him. Both fell silent, listening only to the rustle of leaves in the trees around them. The soft sounds of the water lapping at the rocks they sat on. The faint sizzling of the wet grass where the water was still fighting off some of the Natsu-charred blades of grass.

The two of them had never been awkward. Silence between them was rare, but had always been comfortable. Easy.

Now, they were just sitting quietly in a dark cloud of depression, neither of them knowing what to say.

So they said nothing.

For a long time, they sat like that, just taking in the cool fall air around them and struggling with their own thoughts and feelings.

Eventually, Natsu found his attention drawn to the stars once more. He fell back, his feet still in the cool water, and lay down on the ground on his back, his hands behind his head. Just taking in the massive expanse of stars above him.

Happy moved as well, shuffling over to rest against the fire mage's side, but looked to the sky as well.

After a few minutes, Natsu finally spoke. But it wasn't to Happy.

"Why?" the fire mage questioned. The exceed knew who he was talking to. He couldn't help but wonder the same thing, and found himself hoping that one of Lucy's spirits would appear and answer Natsu's sad inquiry.

A few minutes passed - in which nothing happened, of course - and then Natsu spoke again.

"I…" he cleared his throat, "I don't understand. Were you _all _fooling us?"

Another hour passed just the same, and Happy's exhaustion finally took hold. The exceed fell into an uneasy sleep. Natsu remained wide awake, unable to stop thinking long enough for tiredness to even really register.

"Loke, you bastard. Answer me." The questioning tone in his voice was gone, replaced with this more familiar emotion. Anger.

Another hour gone by next to the sleeping exceed revealed no celestial spirits. None of them decent enough to come down and face him.

"Virgo, I thought we were friends… Why didn't you tell me Luce-_Lucy _was lying?"

No answer. Again. Natsu knew that would be the case. He actually wasn't even sure if they could hear him, but he imagined they could. He imagined them cowering away in their sparkly, palace-filled world, seeing his pain and ignoring it. It made his anger feel justified.

An hour later found Natsu still staring at the sky, which was gradually gaining light. Now a twilit sky rather than the dark, star-filled night he'd been confronting for hours.

"Aquarius… weren't you like a mom to her? Didn't you teach her not to lie? Why… Why would you let her be this way? You should have taught her better."

This time, he was actually a little surprised that nothing happened. Half the time, he thought Aquarius was some kind of all-knowing, omniscient being that would show up if he bad-mouthed her. She was, admittedly, terrifying. No such luck, though. Not a single wave tried to drown him, despite his feet literally dangling in water.

The sun broke the horizon not long after that, and Natsu's view of the stars was completely cut off. He threw his arms to his side and clenched his fists, pissed off that he still had no answers, and no longer any energy to deny the truth of Lucy's betrayal.

It was a revelation that made his heart clench in his chest.

The knowledge that his best friend in the world was just some crazy, evil woman using him to get what she wanted made him want to self-destruct. Or maybe explode a town. Or two.

Or maybe way more than that.

She'd even distracted him from finding _Igneel_, not that he would have found the dragon that was hiding within him, but still. He'd betrayed the love he had for his father by giving up the search, because _Lucy_ had captured up so much of his attention. And now that father was _gone, _well and truly gone this time. And Natsu was alone. _Again. _

Just him and Happy against the world. He thought that should be enough, right?

It should have been, but with years living by Lucy's side, it didn't quite seem as fulfilling as it once was. With Gray and Erza and the rest of Fairy Tail, he should be okay. But somehow, it didn't feel that way.

And Luce, the woman he loved, was _gone. _Or maybe she never existed? He wasn't really sure how to describe it. It was like talking about two different people.

Maybe all that there ever was was Lucy of Fallen Star, maybe that's who she'd always been, underneath it all. A woman determined to help a dark guild steal Fairy Tail secrets without regard to the people she used to get them.

But _Luce, _she was real. Or she had been, to him. She'd been the one to show him that he could be happy without his dad. That he could make the most of his life without constantly searching for his missing father. That he had a loving family in Fairy Tail, if he'd just let them in.

_Luce _had been the one to show him that life isn't all about fighting and being strong. It was about protecting the things you care about.

_Luce _had been the one to make him realize that he could love his friends, but that being _in love _was something so much more. Not that he'd ever told her.

_Luce _was the one who helped him grow up. To "be a man" as Elfman would put it. To look at the big picture, to see more than what was just in front of his face. She'd been the only one able to show him what it was like to have a family, even though it had been staring him in the face for years before she showed up.

But… This wasn't _Luce. _This was _Lucy. _And Lucy was the one who shattered his heart, and made him question everything he'd ever learned from the years he spent as her best friend and teammate. But that didn't mean that _Luce_ hadn't been the reason for all the good things in his life.

It was just so confusing.

He sat up and pulled his now-wrinkled toes from the water, and gathered his feet under himself to sit cross-legged, dropping his head into his hands.

Beside him, Happy stirred and opened his eyes.

Seeing that the sun had risen, Happy sighed and sat up, rubbing the fitful sleep from his eyes.

"Natsu… Lushy's leaving today, isn't she?"

It was quiet for a while, Natsu not moving or responding in any way, but Happy knew that he'd been heard. He gave his friend a minute to compose himself.

"Yeah, Happy. Lucy is going, and she's not coming back," he said, wiping his eyes discreetly, "Go see her off if you want, but… I can't. I…," he moved his hands away from his face and crossed his arms over his chest, refusing to meet Happy's eyes in favor of looking out over the water, "I'll be fine here, but I can't see her again."

Happy sniffled a little, trying not to cry yet again, and he looked at his unhappy friend, "I… I have to go Natsu… I… I know y-you said… s-she is bad n-now…" the exceeds attempts at not crying were foiled, "But I'm g-gonna miss h-her…." he trailed off, sobbing.

Natsu sat up and put a comforting hand on the cat's head, "Go on, Happy. Go see her off."

"B-but… You're sure… You'll be okay b-by y-yourself?" Happy asked uncertainly.

Natsu nodded, crossing his arms over his chest again, "I'll be fine, buddy. Get going."

Still crying, the exceed took a shaky breath and activated his aera magic, sprouting wings. He sent one last look at his partner and, seeing that he wasn't covered in flames, took off toward Magnolia.

* * *

Lisanna was tending bar at the guild when Happy arrived. Mira had been sent home the afternoon following the attack, when she woke up, and had been recovering ever since. The same was true for many of the people who'd been hit directly by the poison attack. A few had returned, meandering around the guild hall, but most were still stuck at home under threat of Porlyusica's wrath should they overextend themselves.

Porlyusica's wrath was not to be underestimated.

Wendy was at the bar with Romeo, while most of the rest of the guild was situated around the hall at the few tables that hadn't been destroyed in the evening. The Thunder Legion was still milling about around the entrance and the perimeter of the hall, making sure no one unwelcome entered until Laki came back that afternoon to repair the newly damaged wooden furniture and the guild door.

Happy flew straight toward a Levy, who was sitting at the bar, huddled against Gajeel for comfort and staring straight ahead at the bottles on the wall and not really seeing anyone. Or anything. Her book was perched in her lap but she wasn't reading it.

Happy landed on the bar in front of her and after a moment of thought, flung himself into her arms seeking comfort from the small bluenette who seemed as completely devastated as he was.

"H-has she… gone?" Happy questioned, his voice small and muffled by the fabric of Levy's dress.

Levy didn't respond, and Gajeel was silently staring at the two at his side unable to really speak without growling in anger and sadness, though he was trying to hide it. The kin bond was something very, very precious to a dragon. The betrayal they'd suffered at Lucy's hands had all but severed that bond - in fact, he was shocked it wasn't cut off entirely, but it was frayed enough that it was essentially useless. Dragon Slayers could normally sense if their kin was in danger, their emotions if they were strong enough, and typically had a strong sense of where they were located. His bond with Lucy? He couldn't feel anything from it. It was _there, _he could tell, but that was it. Wendy was likely in the same state, though it seemed like Laxus' had actually broken.

There wasn't another explanation as to why he wasn't a complete fucking mess like the rest of them. He was angry, sure, but the rest of them were conflicted and confused and irritable - their instincts going haywire. Gajeel found himself jealous of the lightning slayer. If the bond had broken he'd be much better off.

He hated having a tie to someone who used him and the rest of the people who had come to be his family.

And she'd hurt his only other kin, Levy. Hurting a dragon's kin was a very bad deal, and Gajeel couldn't even be properly pissed about it because of that stupid bond that refused to break. While technically, he could break it himself, he… couldn't bear to do it. Something told him not to, and he wasn't really one to fight his instincts. Even if they were confusing as shit.

Still, he was doing all he could to not show anyone how affected he was. Because Levy, who's bond had always been stronger because she wasn't fucking hiding shit, needed his help. She was devastated. Disbelieving. Unsure. She needed Gajeel to be strong and support her, or she'd crumble.

Happy just stared at the two mages in front of him, and just as the silence got unbearable, Panther Lily spoke up from the bartop next to him and answered his fellow exceed with a softly-spoken, "No, she's still here".

Both Happy and Levy took deep, shuddering breaths, but didn't speak after that. Gajeel just grumbled.

"She'll be escorted to her apartment at noon to gather her crap, and then her train out of Magnolia leaves at three. Gramps and I are dealing with it. If you want to say goodbye to the traitor, I'd suggest doing it before she leaves the guild. We are removing her guild mark in an hour, that's the only chance you'll have before she's gone for good," Laxus addressed the wizard and exceed quintet that were huddled by the bar.

His voice was cold, and loud enough that the rest of the guild could hear him and plan accordingly. He wanted to give the guild members opportunity to leave before she walked through, or be there for when she did. It wasn't his decision to make for them, if they wanted to say goodbye? They should be able to. If they never wanted to see her again? Up to them.

If he hadn't known the truth, he would have wanted the option. She was family, still would have been, and in all honesty he'd been in the exact same position before - he can't imagine a situation in which he wouldn't have at least seen her off. For everyone else, she was a valued member before everything went down. It was easy to see that the whole guild was having mixed reactions to recent events.

Wendy approached the group and addressed Laxus, "I want to heal her".

Laxus was taken aback, but looked down at the blue-haired teenager and responded gruffly, "Not a good idea, Wen. She's not exactly friendly these days. And Chelia healed almost everything before she left… She doesn't deserve your help anyway."

He placed a hand on her shoulder and steered her away from Gajeel, Levy, and the exceeds. Going to the other side of the bar, he sat down and ordered a beer from Lisanna and waited for Wendy to take a seat beside him. She sat down slowly, staring at her hands and putting her thoughts together.

"Lucy means a lot to me, Laxus. She's… Well, she's kin. And maybe that bond is breaking or broken beyond repair, but even if _your _bond to her is broken, mine isn't. For some reason it's still there, just barely, and so I have to help her. Or at least see for myself that she's healed before I never see her again," she cut off the protest that he was about to dish out with a glare his direction, "I know she isn't who I thought she was, so don't interrupt me. I don't plan on following her around, and I don't even really know if I could forgive her if she apologized at this point. That poison was deadly, and a lot of our family was hurt because of her, and honestly we could have lost a lot of good people if Chelia hadn't come to help me."

She sighed, looking directly at Laxus again, "So no, I don't think she's a good person and I'm not deluding myself thinking that she will somehow turn into one. But my dragon claimed her as kin, and she helped me grow up - even if it was just a way to use me and get the trust of the guild - but I owe her for that."

Wendy wrung her hands together, "So I can at least make sure she's okay before she goes..."

Laxus listened to Wendy trail off, but looking at her revealed the determined set to her mouth that reminded him so keenly of a certain blonde.

He couldn't help but feel for the girl. He knew the sky maiden cared for Lucy, and really, the celestial wizard was a huge part of why she was such a strong girl at such a young age. Even beyond the Kin bond - Lucy was kin to almost every Dragon Slayer he knew of, for some reason - he could tell that Wendy had always looked up to celestial wizard as a role model. And now she was leaving, and Wendy was taking it pretty harshly.

He did find himself extremely proud of her, still. Wendy being willing to help even an 'enemy' recover and have a good chance at life after she left, despite a strained kin bond, was pretty impressive. He could tell, if the Gajeel was in that same situation, he likely would make a different choice.

Laxus thought it over some more, then just sighed heavily.

"Fine, kid. I'll ask Gramps if he'll allow it. We're cutting her loose because she isn't working with her old guild anymore, and she technically didn't hurt anyone personally. That's the _only _reason the Rune Knights aren't involved. But she's not exactly _reformed. _She's mean and hostile and we don't want you getting hurt."

"I can take it," Wendy said, determination making her eyes sparkle. He was again, reminded of a young Lucy Heartfilia. He almost cracked a smile.

Instead, Laxus merely sighed, got up, downed the beer Lisanna had brought him, and made a move toward the master's office. Wendy watched him go, trying to ignore the heartache she felt at Lucy's betrayal, and the pain of the frayed bond that she refused to sever.

She glanced at Gajeel, and the blank expression on his face, and knew he was feeling similarly. She wasn't the only Dragon in Ishgar that had claimed the blonde as kin.

* * *

"Gramps. We have to let Wendy heal her before she goes."

Makarov glanced up at his grandson, finally removing his attention from the paperwork stacked in front of him, quirking up an eyebrow in question.

Sighing, Laxus continues, "She claimed her as kin, Gramps, just like I have. Don't know why I haven't noticed before, but if she doesn't do this, her dragon will be restless until she comes back. We've got to at least let her check Lucy out and confirm that she's healthy. She's made up her mind."

The old guild master sighs heavily, "Gajeel too... I'm going to have four restless dragons on my hands for the foreseeable future, aren't I?"

Laxus just shrugs, "Three. Well, six, but they aren't all Fairies. And it can't be helped, old man. She's fucking brilliant, and magnetic, and powerful - not that she can see that. Dragons crave strength and security, and she, up until this stupid shit got in the way, has always been the embodiment of those feelings. It's only natural that we claimed her as kin once we got close."

Makarov was silent for a while, still thinking over what the lightning slayer said to him, then spoke up quietly, "So Natsu isn't kin? That's shocking, considering they are attached at the hip," he stated, before considering, "well, they _were _attached at the hip."

Shrugging again, Laxus answers, "Yeah, not sure about all that. Natsu's pretty dense, so maybe he never learned about it all."

Makarov just waved him off, "Ah, well, nothing to focus on now. Do you think Wendy can handle seeing Lucy? She's a delicate girl and Lucy will have to be… ah… _not nice_ if she is to keep the guild in the dark."

"Yeah, she's stronger than you think. Stronger than I gave her credit for," Laxus admitted.

"To be honest, I'm much more comfortable letting Lucy leave here alone if I know she's been healed and double checked. Hell, if Bix's brother could get here from Bosco before she leaves, I'd have him here in a heartbeat to _triple check,_ because I don't want Lu out there alone and injured. Especially not when we don't know where these bastards are hiding. Besides, I think it'd be good for Wendy to see her healed before she goes."

Makarov thought for a moment more, before nodding slowly, "Okay. But I'll be there with her, and I want Lucy's permission first. She had some rough encounters last night and I need to make sure she's ready to handle it."

Laxus looked relieved at the prospect of his kin being healed, before he schooled his expression once more and started walking out of the master's office. "I'll get Wendy then. You chat with Blondie, and let me know when she's ready," he threw over his shoulder at his grandfather, before he opened the door and headed back to the blue haired dragon slayer.

Makarov rolled his shoulders and steeled himself for another painful moment with one of his favorite children - not that he has favorites - before walking slowly out of his office towards the infirmary.

* * *

"Lucy, child, are you sure?" Makarov asked her as she and Virgo work to hastily put away her research materials, setting most aside for Virgo to take back to the celestial realm.

"Yes, Master. If Wendy needs to face me, I have to let her. I…" She paused, thinking for a moment, "I know what a dragon's kin is. I researched it pretty thoroughly when Gajeel first told me about it. It's… Well, it's bad enough that I strained the bonds so much by lying," she said tiredly.

Makarov only looked at her worriedly.

"If she needs to face me, then that's what needs to happen," Lucy confirmed, her eye filling with that same determination he'd seen on her countless times.

Makarov quickly agreed after seeing the look in her eye.

"Alright. I'll call her up. After that's done, my dear, we will get the terms of our agreement squared away, and then we will remove your guild mark and leave."

Hearing that her time at Fairy Tail was rapidly coming to a close was painful, each and every time she was reminded, but her determination didn't falter. Gray believed in her. Laxus believed in her (albeit reluctantly) and so did the Master. And her spirits would always be by her side. Lucy was gaining more confidence in her plan by the day, as she finalized the details and thought on all the people she still had in her corner.

She didn't respond to Makarov's words, only looking at Virgo and confirming she had everything before dismissing her and laying back against the rather flat pillows on the infirmary bed.

Rearranging her blankets and such, and removing the few remaining bandages so Wendy could see the only remaining damage she could fix, she nodded to Makarov, "Alright, Gramps. I'm as ready as I'll ever be."

* * *

Wendy didn't speak when she entered the infirmary. She honestly didn't even look at Lucy, apart from her injured body. She was shaking with rage, and sadness, and betrayal the whole time she was there and only made one single, small, surprised noise at the damage she discovered when she hovered her hands over her kin. And one more, slightly more horrified gasp when she saw the damage to her face - and the lack of her left eye.

She was able to heal all the small cuts and bruises, as all the major damage sustained was healed by Chelia before she left.

By the time the blue-haired girl was done, Lucy felt as though she was at one hundred percent for the first time in… well, in years, if she was being honest. The last few years, she'd been adamantly refusing to allow Wendy to heal her unless it was life threatening. Some kind of self-punishment, she supposed, for sacrificing Aquarius.

Needless to say, Lucy was thankful that Wendy decided she needed to help. Not that she could _express _that gratitude, which killed her inside, but she was grateful nonetheless. She couldn't bring herself to say anything scathing to the small bluenette, but made a show of 'not needing her help' and 'wishing she'd just go away' and a few scathing glares, after which the bluenette would grit her teeth just a bit harder and continue fighting tears. Lucy hated it, but at least Wendy hadn't asked her questions. That would have been… unimaginably difficult.

Lucy made a promise to herself to make sure the teen was taken care of, even if it meant she had to bribe Laxus, Master, Gray, or even Gildarts to make sure it was so.

Wendy tired quickly after healing the remainder of Lucy's wounds, and unfortunately even with intervention, they would all remain scarred. Now, though, she'd be able to start her training journey immediately, without hindrance from her injuries, and wouldn't have to waste any time after she got done with Sabretooth.

Wendy left with one more harsh glare sent by Lucy, shedding tears only as she was leaving, and spoke over her shoulder quietly at the woman she'd once considered a sister, "Lucy. I hope you can change, and I'm sorry that you still can't find it in yourself to be happy with us. Even after all these years together. I don't think… I doubt we will meet again, so… have a nice life."

And with those words she left, leaving an emotionally exhausted Lucy behind her, doing everything she could to hold in her tearless whimpers until Wendy was far enough away to not hear her.

* * *

"Gildarts, I need you to head back to Fiore."

Gildarts face showed panic on the other end of the com lacrima, "What?! I was just there! Is Cana okay?!" he shouted at master, and started rapid-fire questioning his guild master for details, not letting the little old man get a word in edgewise to respond.

"GILDARTS! SHUT IT!"

"...yes, master. What is it?"

"I need you to meet Lucy in the Waas Forest in three days. Can you do that?"

"Lucy…? What do you mean I have to meet Lucy? You mean the same Lucy who you've convinced everyone is responsible for the attack on the guild? What about Cana?"

Makarov shouldn't be surprised that Gildarts had doubts about the real situation with Lucy. He'd been the guid for a very long time, and his instincts were solid.

Sighing heavily, Master replied, "It's a long story and one I don't wish to discuss over a com that isn't secured. She will tell you when you arrive, and I'll send her with a letter from myself detailing what I need you to do. And Cana is FINE, you old fool, stop obsessing!"

"Oh alright. I didn't really have a mission anyway, I had just heard about this _amazing _bathhouse in Bosco… Well nevermind that. Anyway, she'll have a way to contact me?"

"She will call your com in three days, sooner if she has to adjust the timing."

Gildarts scratched his beard and narrowed his eyes at his guild master once more. "... Can Cana come with her?"

Master just rolled his eyes and disconnected the line, turning to address Lucy, who was sitting quietly staring at her hands.

"You don't need to inconvenience Gildarts, master. I can train with my spir-"

"Lucy, you gave me your word."

Rolling her eyes, she responded, "Yes, yes. And I won't break it," she stated, "that doesn't mean I can't try to get you to reconsider…" she muttered almost petulantly.

Makarov smiled at her, something he hadn't done in days, and let out a light chuckle, "We are still your family, Lucy, even if most of us don't know that. Of course we will help you, and no, I'm not changing my mind."

She simply nodded. "Alright. What else do we need to arrange?"

"You still have the com Laxus gave you?"

"Yeah…?" Lucy answered a little confused. What would she have done with it, it's not like she left the guild at any point in the last three days...?

"I told you, we must speak every week. If you can't reach me, you must reach Laxus. At the first HINT that you are in danger, I expect a call. If I go more than seven consecutive days without hearing your voice, I will send every S-Class mage we have after you - including Laxus. Do you understand?" he commanded her firmly.

"...yes, Gramps."

"I'd also like to be informed of any major updates you find in regards to your research into Fallen Star, preferably as soon as you discover them. Is this agreeable?"

Lucy thought that one over for a moment, before nodding once more, "yes, I think that would be for the best. If you promise to do the same?"

"I can do that, Lucy," Master Makarov agreed, "Then we just have one last thing before we head on our way. Are you ready to get your mark removed and face the guild?"

"I… I wouldn't say, 'ready', but… it's now or never. Let's go."

Laxus, who had been standing at the doorway, walked over to his fellow blonde as she stood from her chair. Lucy leaned over and hugged Makarov tightly while he stood on his desk, whispering words of thanks for his support and for everything he'd done for her.

When she finally pulled away from the old man, she saw his teary face and nearly broke down again. But she'd promised herself no more tears, so she held back as she turned to face her big brother.

"Lax…"

"Lu… Be safe out there, alright, kiddo?" he choked out, enveloping her smaller frame into a large, affectionate hug. He wasn't a hugger, but in that moment he vowed he would become one. If only it would prevent her from leaving, charging head-first into an unknown danger alone.

Swallowing past the lump in her throat, she hugged him back with everything she had, whispering a softly spoken, "Yeah. I can do that."

They pulled away reluctantly, and all three arranged their features to hide the pain they were feeling, before they walked out onto the guild balcony to address the guild before Lucy left for good.


	19. Chapter 19

**Readers, welcome to the last chapter of Lucy in Magnolia (at least for a while)!**

**And this _should be_ the last majorly sad chapter in a bit, so we can all sigh in relief at news of upcoming happiness. Yay!**

**Please review, tell me what you think about how things are going!**

* * *

She didn't know why she hadn't anticipated it, but removing her mark was _so fucking painful. _

Well, honestly, she _had _anticipated it. But somehow, it managed to be harder than she thought it would be. It was ten times worse than her worst imaginings had prepared her for. _At least. _

She was ready for anger. Betrayed looks. Scathing remarks. The same kind of shit she'd been spewing at her guildmates since she started this farce. That, she could have handled.

This? It was like confronting Gray, and Erza, and Natsu all over again. All at once.

But, after coming this far, she couldn't break down. Crying about it would tell them that she cared - and this character she was forcing herself to play for them, she couldn't care. Not if her plan was going to work. Not if she was going to protect them from getting hurt because of her. Again.

She pushed all her second thoughts to the side, ignoring the pain she felt completely, and focused only on the injuries that still showed their signs on the bodies of her guildmates. Mira, she'd made it in. She had bandages wrapped around a few places on her body where the Earth-Make wizard had caught her, and looked exhausted. Still sporting dark circles from the venom that was recently purged from her body.

That same exhausted, pale, sickly look was actually still showing up on several of her guildmates. She used it. Focused only on that, on the pain she'd brought to their doorstep once again - and she squared her shoulders, borrowed Laxus's signature scowl, and walked the rest of the way to the balcony railing to face her peers.

Laxus made his way down the stairs to stand at the door while Master Makarov joined Lucy on the balcony, so everyone could see when her guild mark was wiped from her hand like it never existed.

She thought she was ready.

She was very, _very _wrong.

Because, when she finally focused on the people she'd called family for twelve years, what she saw wasn't anger. Well, anger was present, sure. But the most potent emotion that hit her when she observed them was overwhelming, inconsolable grief. Despair. The kind of sadness that grips your soul and drags you into darkness. And _it was all her fault._

It took _everything _she had to remain stoic. To keep up the facade that she didn't care. Because causing her family pain was the _last thing _she ever wanted to do. And yet, she'd done so. She'd convinced herself this was the only option left to keep them safe, and she'd followed through on that plan by forcing Gramps, and Laxus, and Gray to agree with her. In doing so, she'd caused them more pain than she'd seen from the group before her, and it fucking _hurt._

She barely registered the words master was saying as he gripped her hand and held it aloft. As he told the masses of her expulsion, that she was leaving, instead focusing on memorizing the faces of her guildmates. She wasn't sure when - or even if - she would see them again.

She searched over and over again, only to finally realize that she wouldn't find them. Because they _weren't there._

And that fact nearly broke her. Of her closest friends, she could only find Gajeel, Levy, Panther Lily, and Happy. Not even Levy had remained.

Erza, Jellal, Cana, Wendy, Juvia, Bickslow, Freed, Evergreen, not even Gray - she guessed he decided he couldn't watch her leave knowing the truth.

Not even Natsu.

None of them came to yell at her, to berate her, to scream at her for everything she'd done. Or even to say goodbye.

Lucy was sure, no, she was _positive _that she couldn't stand to see those things happening in front of her, that the disappointment they would express to her would be debilitating. But honestly, she hadn't expected the pain and misery that came from them _not even bothering _to do those things. For not even _showing up_ to see their teammate and close friend being exiled from the guild that is known throughout Earthland as a family for those who didn't have one. The intense, broken feeling she got when she realized she didn't matter enough to them for them to even show up to send her off was nearly unbearable.

But she would bear it, to protect them, whether they were here or not. She had to.

So she watched as Makarov waved his hand over hers, watched the pink mark that symbolized the last five years (or twelve, being stuck on Tenrou really throws everything off) of her life, glow softly before disappearing altogether, and with it, every outward sign of being a part of a family went with it.

She walked out of the guild, still sporting a scowl that _mostly _hid the pain in her eyes, with her head held high and Laxus and Makarov on either side, escorting the 'enemy' outside of Magnolia.

Before she made it out the doors, a sobbing blue exceed crashed into her chest, and just one last time, she discreetly, with one arm, squeezed Happy to tighter to her body briefly, before shoving him aside with a whispered, "Goodbye".

* * *

Lucy was silent as she walked along next to her adopted family, leaving everything behind.

After she'd wrestled with her crushing guilt for the last time, she convinced herself that she was no longer allowed to dwell on it. She was so fucking _tired _of being sad, so she decided she would no longer allow herself to be.

After a few minutes of internal pep-talking (with Loke using the newly formed mental link to chime in on occasion), she found herself feeling better.

The further she walked, the easier it was to shove from her mind. She officially turned her sights, literally and figuratively, from everything she was leaving behind so she could focus on everything that lay before her. '_I've always wanted to be stronger… I guess now is my chance'_ she thought to herself, smiling just a little bit at having been given the opportunity to train with the strongest man in the guild. Or in the world, maybe. Gildarts was fucking insanely powerful.

Both Laxus and Makarov noticed the change in her, and for the first time didn't feel dread as they prepared her to leave. They were sad, incredibly so, and Laxus was frustrated at the idea of leaving his kin to deal with a dangerous problem on her own, but at the end of they day, they had faith in her. Faith that was growing with every confident step forward that she took. And they would support her with everything they had.

Even if the journey ahead is difficult, she would make the most of it. Of that, they were certain. And they were determined to help her get home as soon as possible.

Arriving at the station, Laxus purchased her a ticket to Crocus. It was the closest rail-connected city to Sabretooth, where she'd head to warn Sting and Yukino of the threat to the Zodiacs before moving on to various parts of the country to train with Gildarts. Even he didn't know exactly where she was heading once she and Gildarts met up in the Waas Forest.

Laxus returned to the other two, handing the paper over to Lucy, who took it with only a slight hesitation, "Thank you."

"You have your com?" he asked, frowning.

"I do," Lucy responded quietly.

"You know how to use it?" Leave it to Gramps to ask the dumb questions.

"Master… Of course I do."

Laxus chimed again, "You know where you're going?"

"Laxus, you're the one with no sense of direction…" Lucy rolled her eyes, then thought that statement through, "Actually, on that note," she studied her ticket closely, confirming he'd purchased one for the correct destination. It was mostly a joke, but him purchasing the wrong ticket wasn't all that far-fetched. In fact, it had happened before.

Laxus scowled at her half-heartedly and she suppressed a smile.

"You remembered your keys?"

"Master," Lucy stared at him blankly, "Seriously? I _always _have my keys."

"Right, right. My mistake. You'll be careful?"

"Of course. And I'll be in touch," she said, tapping the com lacrima in shorts pocket.

They kept their conversation quiet and kept their distance from one another, so to the outside world they appeared to be acquaintances or enemies, despite the fact that their conversation was anything but hostile.

Lucy had a grip on her ticket, and her other hand clutched her keys for support as she prepared to say goodbye to the last people on her side in all this.

She was about to say _thank you _to the two men who helped get her this far when Laxus stiffened and grumbled, "Natsu…" while looking over Lucy's shoulder.

Lucy's world came to a halt. For a second she thought the Spirit King had decided to stop by for another visit, then realized it was just her that had frozen and not time itself. She turned around slowly and faced her pink-headed companion, catching the look of sadness and hurt in his eyes before looking back to the Dreyars for guidance as her heart raced.

Makarov simply nodded once, indicating that she should speak to him, before taking a small step back and observing carefully.

She turned back to her best friend, her heart rate beating so loudly in her chest that she was certain he heard it clear as day.

"I'm not here to hurt you…" Natsu muttered. '_Yep, he definitely hears my heartbeat,' _she confirmed mentally. Loke didn't chime in, so she assumed he agreed.

"What do you want?" she forced out in a falsely grumpy voice, though it's not as sharp as it probably should have been. She wasn't prepared for this, she thought she was finally free of painful, hurtful goodbyes. '_Damn it, damn it, damn it!'_

'_Lucy, calm down. You don't have to say anything, just listen and then you can get on the train. You'll regret it if you don't hear him out,' _Loke spoke in her mind. She hated that he was right.

Lucy grit her teeth and glared at Natsu.

Natsu flinched a little, but moved his eyes up to meet Lucy's stare. "Look, Luce-_Lucy… _I-I know that… You're not my b-best friend. I get it. I-it was all a lie to you. But you're leaving, for good, and… I just have to say this, okay? Just listen?"

Lucy took a deep breath and fought to keep a scowl on her face. She nodded once, a quick, jerky movement to indicate he continue, but made no other outward movement.

"You're not my Luce. But I still owe you, or her, or whatever. You used us all, and betrayed us, and convinced us that we were a family just so you could find out some stupid secret. And I'll never, _never fucking forgive you for that. _I'll never forgive you for hurting Happy. For hurting Erza or Gray, who have lived through _so much _that they shouldn't have ever had to deal with. But… my Luce taught me a lot. Got me through a lot. Saved my life a lot. And I owe that person. I know it was all a joke to you, some big massive plan to gain our trust, but… I learned _so much _about how I should be, and who I could be, from you. Well, from who you pretended to be. And while it was fake to you, the last five years were real for me. So… Thank you, I guess. For showing me what a good person looks like. Even if it's not who you really are," he took a shaky breath, and turned on his heel to leave the mostly empty train station.

"Thanks for everything," he said again, over his shoulder, as he turned his back on Lucy and walked away, raising his hand over his head slightly in a dismissive wave.

It took everything she had not to chase after the deceivingly wise, salmon-haired dragon slayer who held her heart. _Everything she had. _But she stayed strong, her resolve _finally _firmly in place, knowing that despite everything, her family would be okay without her. They would be safe from the troubles she brought, and they would stay strong despite the betrayal she forced them to suffer through.

She faced the Dreyar men one last time, nodded to them with clear, tear-free eyes, and boarded the train as they looked on with a sad kind of determination in their gaze.

"Goodbye Magnolia… Goodbye Fairy Tail…" Lucy whispered to the closed window as the train pulled from the station, and her old hometown faded from view. The next time she set her eyes on the familiar shapes of Magnolia on the horizon, her family would be safe from the people who set their sights on her. She'd make sure of it.


	20. Chapter 20

**Readers,**

**I am going to post this chapter and the next at least, this evening. Some of you informed me that leaving you at the end of the depressing bit was just a bit cruel, so I promise, I'll get to at least _some _happy before I retire for the evening!**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

"Happy, I'm going training. Might be gone for a while. Did you want to come with me?"

The blue feline eyed his partner carefully, still upset that his friend for years had betrayed him and run off. And mad at himself because for some reason, he still missed her. And that small, hug-like squeeze she'd given him before she left just confused him, because he'd felt like she cared for him again, just for that one little moment before she'd pushed him away again. _Man, I just need to eat fish for days. Thinking this hard about it sucks. _

"...Will we be able to fish?"

Natsu broke into a toothy smile for the first time in days, "Yeah, Happy," he laughed, "We can get some fish for ya, buddy".

And so, after touching base with Master, Erza, Gray and Jellal, Natsu left the guild for an 'indefinite' amount of time, to train. He promised to keep in contact at least once a month and he and Happy left the next morning.

* * *

Erza and Jellal had spent the morning at Jellal's house, trying and failing at focusing on anything but Lucy's exile from the guild. They'd decided not to go see her mark being removed with the rest of the guild. It was just to painful for Erza, she felt like she was losing a sibling, and with everything she's lost in life, she wasn't sure she handle it.

Jellal wanted to see her off. Wanted to search her eyes for some kind of sign that it wasn't real, that there was more to it. But he couldn't bring himself to leave Erza alone. He'd search for answers elsewhere. Even if something were going on, it wouldn't be likely he'd discover it by speaking with her regardless. _I have to reach out to Meredy. Maybe the rest of the old team has some idea about this enemy guild she'd apparently been working for. Oh, how useful it would be to have Cobra around for this…_ his thoughts turned to his old guild, Crime Sorciere. He'd start there for answers. Tomorrow. Right now, Erza needed him.

"Erza, let's go find a mission. Something to take us away for a while. I don't know about you, but I could really use the chance to throw some magic around," Jellal said suddenly.

Erza's eyes sparkled in anticipation, "Finding an enemy to vanquish is an excellent idea, love. I wonder if there is an S-Class Quest near Rose Garden? There is an armory there I've been meaning to visit."

Jellal smiled at her briefly, "We can go into the guild this evening to pick one up. And we don't have to get a job near there for us to visit, Erza. We can go to Rose Garden after if you want, there is no reason for me to object to you getting stronger weapons to keep you safe and help you get stronger."

_This is why I love you… _Erza thought to herself.

And so, after talking with master that evening, and Natsu and Gray, the two mages headed out to eastern Fiore to deal with a dark guild that had gained strength since the fall of the Baram Alliance. Whispers of Zeref's demons seemed to follow rumors surrounding that guild, but they were certain all of the gates of Tartaros were gone, so concluded there were mages once again after artifacts that would bring death and destruction to Fiore. They too, made a promise to stay in contact with the guild before they left, most likely to return within the next two months.

* * *

Gray couldn't face the guild knowing that it was all a lie, and knowing Lucy was in tremendous pain having to lie to keep everyone safe. He didn't know the details, but he decided he was _not _going to find out. She'd asked him to trust her, so he would.

That didn't mean he was going to sit around the guild, waiting for news. He was going to train. That way, maybe next time she'd think he was strong enough that she could take him with her.

It stung a little, knowing he couldn't be of use to her right now. And he vowed he'd find a way to be more helpful to her in the future. She was strong, incredibly so, but he wanted to protect her. So he would find a way to get stronger for her. After he lost his father, _again, _he'd awakened Devil Slayer Magic, something he has _yet _to figure out how to control. And he knew, if he didn't figure it out soon it would consume him, and that would cause her pain. And he would never allow himself to be the cause of more pain for the woman who had been through so much already.

"Juvia," he said to seemingly no one, as he was 'alone' walking around Magnolia Park.

"Yes, my darling Gray?" Juvia answered excitedly from her place behind a tree. Gray, though he just _knew _she'd been stalking him again, rolled his eyes at her antics. He loved her, dammit, but he couldn't handle the hero worship. She didn't value herself enough for him to even entertain the idea of something with her before she figured it out.

Still though, she was a strong mage. Had achieved a lot, and when she was focused, was a damn formidable opponent. And maybe she'd learn her value if she took some time away from everything else.

"I'm going to train my dad's magic. And I could really use your help," he began, "but I won't pressure you to go. I'm going to be away from the guild for a while to get a handle on it, so if you can't afford the time away or you don't want to go, don't feel like you have to. But I'd like to invite you along if you want to train with me?"

Juvia nearly passed out from the invitation from her beloved.

She sat stunned for several minutes while he just stood there, shirtless - of course - and raised an eyebrow at her dazed expression.

"Oi! Juvia!" Gray snapped, irritated at her ten-minute-long silence.

"OH! Juvia is sorry, Gray my love. She was sure she'd been dreaming when you asked her to come along with you. Juvia would love to come!" she squealed excitedly.

Gray sighed and turned around, walking towards the guild to make arrangements with his friends and the master, "Sounds good, Juvia. And thanks. We leave tomorrow."

"O-Of course, Gray dear!"

Juvia watched him walk away, and for once didn't follow. She had to pack. But she did have one more thing to mention, "Gray, my love!" she shouted after his retreating figure, "You're clothes!"

"Damn it!"

* * *

"Bacchus! Drink with me!"

Bacchus turned around at the unexpected voice he heard behind him. After all, there weren't women in Quatro Cerberus (Quatro Puppy, _damn, _he had to admit it, that was funny as hell), and he was at the guild bar. The rest of his guild was being… wild, but he'd not started yet, so he couldn't be imagining it in a drunken stupor. That had to mean…

"Cana!" he shouted as he turned around in his barstool, "My favorite Fairy come to party!"

"Something like that," she said as she approached him, looking haggard and depressed.

Bachhus was concerned for her, drinking when she was obviously sad wasn't necessarily, uh… _good _or _healthy. _But he'd let it go for tonight, party, and then tomorrow he'd pry for details and make her face her shit. She'd be too hungover to argue much.

* * *

"Kaleb, something's fucked up here. I don't know what, but I've fucking _seen _Cosplayer's _soul. _There's no _way _this story checks out, her aura's like the purest mix of gold and bright white I've ever seen, and her doing something that evil and twisted shouldn't even be possible. But she's been fucking exiled already and I don't know what the hell to do. I'm worried about her, man. And I don't know what to think about all this bullshit, because Master and Laxus are stand-up guys, and I trust them with everything, and they don't usually get shit like this wrong, and she _admitted it_, to her closest friends, _more than once, _and _fuck _I just wish I had your goddamn magical abilities right now because I _need _to know what's going on with the _only person who fucking gets my crazy ass and accepts my fucked up version of friendship, _besides my team-"

"Bix," Kaleb said over the com lacrima, watching as his adoptive brother basically pulled his hair out in obvious distress over the celestial mage friend he's always bragging about in his letters.

"-and even they took _years _to warm up to me and my magic when she just accepted me, right after I literally tried to hurt her, and the rest of our family, _with said magic_. _Fuck, _she's too damn good for this shit-"

"Bix…"

"-and I have to help her but I can't fucking figure out _how. _Is she possessed? _Damn it, _I should have checked when she came in injured-"

"BICKSLOW!"

Startled red eyes locked with pale lavender over the com.

"Breathe, slow the fuck down."

"... Right. Right."

Kaleb watched his brother calm down slowly before speaking again, "Bix, why don't you come home? She's a celestial wizard, right?"

"Uh… Yeah. Why?"

"Mom was one, too, remember? Maybe it's related to her magic and something is going on in the celestial realm. Dad might know. Besides, you could use a break, clearly. Come home."

"... Yeah. Okay. Let me tell Laxus and Master I'll be taking some time. I'll be there next week? You'll come up to Palerno to meet me?"

"Of course. I'll see if Thane can cover things in White Sea Proper. It's been a while and I'd like to see you anyway."

"Yeah. You too. Thanks, Kaleb. I was getting a little frantic there."

Kaleb snorted at that. "A _little,_" he said sarcastically, "see you soon, baby brother."

* * *

"I'm going to Bosco for a while. You think the team will be okay without me?"

Laxus regarded his friend, studying his face carefully, "Bix. You know the team doesn't go anywhere when you're not around. But we've all got plenty of savings so we'll survive. Go see your family." He studied the seith mage for a moment longer, "Are you alright?"

Bickslow sighed, but answered his leader a few moments later, "Yeah, man. Just this shit with Cosplayer is all fucked up and it's getting to me a bit, ya know? I don't know what to think, so I figure I can go home and try to stop thinking for a while. Maybe get some perspective from my family and relax."

Laxus nodded slowly, unwilling to let anything slip about Lucy's situation, but hating that his friend is so messed up about it. He was just glad Lucy hadn't seen how upset he was - she'd hate herself even more.

"How are you doing, Boss? I know you and Cosplayer had that freaky dragon-sibling soul shit going on. Are _you _alright?"

Laxus looked up once again from the paperwork stacked on his desk, surprised that Bix knew about Dragon Kin. Hell, he only knew because he'd done _extensive _research on his magic after his piece of shit dad forced it on him.

"You knew about that?"

Bickslow patted his visor, "Just because I don't take control of your soul on a regular basis doesn't mean I don't see it frequently. That shit is soul-deep, and actually pretty fucking interesting, but that's not really the point. The point is that you're probably hurting more than the rest of us, and you _avoided my question."_

"Yeah, Bix, I'm fine. Go see your family and stop looking at my soul before I zap you into next week."

Bickslow grinned with his tongue hanging out of his mouth, "Got it, boss!"

* * *

"Mira, I'm glad you're back! How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine, Lisanna. I'll take over here," she said, taking the rag from her sisters hand and cleaning the bar top carefully. She seemed to be in good health but she wouldn't really look at anyone.

Lisanna looked sadly on at her sister, wondering why she was so upset. Obviously the whole thing with Lucy was a shock to everyone, but she didn't realize she and Lucy were close, and honestly it upset her a bit that they were. She was sure Mirajane would get over it soon though.

Lisanna would be there all the time with Natsu and all the others to make sure her sister was happy, even without Lucy being around.


	21. Chapter 21

**Hello dear readers! Finally, some humor in this darkest story of mine!**

**Tell me what you think, I'm anxiously awaiting feedback!**

**Also, if you still need the reminder, I don't own Fairy Tail (Hiro Mashima) or the Pradesh family (Desna).**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

"Sting"

The dragon slayer jumped at the sound of a voice behind him, sitting up abruptly from his desk and swirling around in his wonderfully spinny office chair to address the threat, drool still present on the side of his mouth and ink from the paperwork he was laying on imprinted on his cheek.

The intruder stood in the window, dripping wet from the rain outside, took one look at the irritated and highly alert, dangerous dragon that was ready to rip the figure limb from limb and _fucking giggled._

"Ahahahahaaa, _Sting…_," The feminine voice called out between fits of hysterics, clutching her stomach, doubled over with her cloak concealing her identity, "Oh my god, Dragon Force is _so much less _intimidating when you've got half an apology letter scrawled backwards over your… _oh god… _over your fucking _scales…_ and… and…. _Fuck… _drool…. You're drooling…. _Ahahahaha… Yuki!"_

"What the fuck!?" Sting yelled at the intruder, before Rogue and Yukino burst through the master's office door on high alert to investigate the disturbance.

Rogue was instantly on the defensive, seeing the cloaked figure dripping wet, having obviously broken in through the window, but his stance relaxed shortly after - having recognized the intruder's pretty unique scent. Not many people smelled like stardust, not even Yukino, who's smell reminded him of roses. If that wasn't enough, a few moments of observation revealed that said cloaked figure was cackling, in outright hysterics, and was clearly… not a threat. He wasn't even sure the cloaked female could _move _due to the overwhelming amount of energy she was expending to laugh right in Sting's face.

He was actually a little proud. Not many had successfully annoyed the biggest nuisance in Rogue's life.

Yukino, who had heard her name being yelled, was just confused and had never been overly concerned, but heard her name being called by a voice that was, obviously, not Sting's but was still vaguely familiar. Not having the advantage of scent that Rogue did (and that Sting _should have _had, if he weren't so frazzled), she had no idea what was going on, but was more curious than anything.

"Ryos… _oh my god… Why… _Why'd you let him do the _paperwork… god… _does he always sleep on it?" the cackling intruder continued giggling, but the laughter was starting to subside slightly, and Rogue, at least, had confirmed who the cloaked intruder was. There weren't many people who called him Ryos, after all. And that voice _most definitely_ did not belong to Black Steel Gajeel.

Yukino had started chuckling softly as well, likely putting the pieces together herself.

Smirking at Sting's ignorance, and tapping his nose in a 'use your dragon senses you fucking moron'-type gesture, Rogue addressed their surprise guest, "Lucy? What are you doing here?"

She didn't answer right away, still fully incapable of any semblance of normal speech.

After a moment's consideration, Rogue added, "And is there something wrong with our front door?"

Lucy just laughed harder, and this time, Rogue and Yukino both joined in.

Sting stared at the two, appalled at their seeming betrayal, until Lucy finally composed herself enough to stand and remove the hood from her face.

"Blondie? Oh _damn it, _Heartfilia, I could have _killed you!" _Sting shouted, after recognizing who she was.

The other two had… somewhat different reactions. As they had actually noticed that their blonde friend was sporting a new, and rather extensive looking scar on her face and now seemed to employ the use of only one of her eyes.

"Shit, Lucy. Are you okay? What happened?!" Rogue asked frantically, rushing to Lucy's side and pulling the wet cloak from her shoulders. Yukino simply covered her mouth with her hand to hide a gasp.

Lucy, for all their concern, simply waved them off and addressed Sting, "You very well could _not _have killed me, lamplight, but I appreciate your concern," she commented lightly.

Sting, who had finally noticed his fellow blonde's injuries, had gone from angry, to concerned, and with Lucy's last comment, right back to anger. He grumbled like a petulant child and slouched back down in his chair.

Yukino smiled at the interaction, accepting Lucy's reaction to her new scars as her not wanting to discuss it. She laughed lightly at Sting's frustration, because honestly, he was so used to being the one _annoying others, _that witnessing how poorly he handled getting annoyed himself was… seriously adorable.

Rogue was still trying to pull the soaking cloak from Lucy's shoulders, but found himself fighting her dismissive hands until he shot her a glare and started having his shadows help him. She was shaking anyway, and cold, so she just threw her hands up in defeat after a few moments and accepted his assistance.

"Seriously, Blondie, you could've gotten hurt! It's not funny!" Sting grumbled when Lucy had finally been extricated from the fabric.

"Oh, _relax, _Lightbulb!" Lucy chastised him, "I'd have dodged. You're not quicker than me, or have you already forgotten your last _extremely embarrassing _performance at the grand magic games when I _kicked your ass_?" She said that last line with a wink, approaching the guild master and ruffling his hair.

Rogue and Yukino snickered at that and Sting narrowed his gaze on Lucy briefly, muttering something about traitors to the other two occupants of his office, and something else about cheating, unfair blonde women.

He was ignored.

Lucy stepped out of her soggy boots and kicked them to the corner where Ryos had tossed her cloak, and took on a more serious expression as she perched herself on Sting's desk cross-legged. It was oddly reminiscent of a certain, short-statured guildmaster.

"Yuki, can you get the door? I have some things to discuss with you all that can't be overheard," Lucy said, the smile she'd been sporting becoming more subdued.

Yukino nodded at her childhood idol before stepping away to do as she asked.

"Is this room warded for silence?"

Sting rolled his eyes at her, "Yeah, Blondie. Not that you bothered to check before you started cackling like a madwoman. Half the town probably knows your here, though, the runes don't activate on their own." As he said this, he lifted his left hand into the air and sent a pulse of magic toward the ceiling. Purple runes appeared overhead briefly before disappearing again. He nodded at her to indicate she should continue.

She raised an eyebrow in question. "Freed's work? And _stars above, _why is it that the only two mages on Earthland that call me Blondie are _also blonde_?"

Rogue answered her, as Sting was too busy being proud of himself for annoying his fellow blonde to bother actually responding to her question.

"Yes, Lucy. Rufus wanted the opportunity to memorize some of Freed's rune work, so we asked him to come by and help us set up some basic runes to help with security of our files, offices, and library. Our relationship with your guild has been tremendously helpful."

Her normally bright expression darkened slightly at the mention of her home, but if they noticed, they didn't say anything. Lucy just nodded to Yukino and Rogue and indicated they should sit so she could begin the long story. They both took their seats on the opposite side of the desk from Sting.

Lucy felt awkward sitting on Sting's desk when he was behind her, so she hopped off the desk when he made no move to join his comrades on the couch.

She grabbed the back of Sting's rolling office chair and pushed him to the other side of the room, maneuvering him to sit next to Yukino. Her smirk turned victorious when his face got a slight green tinge to it at the motion, "Really, Sting. Why do you even _have _a chair with wheels?"

Sting didn't respond, only clutched his stomach in an effort to calm it down somewhat, and shot her a glare that rivaled Erza's. Not that it affected her, much to his annoyance. Yukino giggled quietly, but Rogue seemed to look a little pale at just the thought of rolling around in that death trap Sting calls a chair.

Lucy gently shifted the piles of disorganized paper on Sting's desk to give herself more room, and lifted herself to sit on top of the desk once again, resuming her earlier position. Her navy-colored leggings and the light blue off the shoulder shirt she wore were still a bit damp, but she didn't pay it any mind. After all, Sting was just drooling all over his desk, so clearly it could handle a little water. She snorted at the thought.

Sting, though she hadn't said anything aloud, just _knew _her twisted mind had come up with some way to make fun of him again and he shot her another glare, crossing his arms over his chest petulantly, and looking away from her and studying the wall, "What do you want, Fairy?"

Lucy, who'd been staring at her hands in her lap trying to figure out how to start, sucked in a sharp breath.

"Please… Don't call me that."

The three Sabres looked very confused by that response, as it had never bothered her before. Rogue was the first to react though, his brain seemed to process information a little faster than his comrades.

"Lucy… Let me see your hand," he stood up and approached her.

She looked away from him and made no move to do as he asked.

"Lucy," he spoke firmly.

Finally meeting his gaze, she squared her shoulders and raised her hand in front of her face. They'd find out eventually, it was kind of the whole reason she was here, so she figured she might as well rip off the bandaid.

She'd done it for her friends, so she refused to act ashamed of it, looking him straight in the eye as she revealed the empty back of her hand, where her original guild mark had once been.

All three gasped in surprise, but Rogue was the one to actually speak up, "What happened, Lucy?" he questioned softly, grabbing her hand and lightly touching the spot where her mark used to be, as if referencing it.

She pulled her hand from his grasp gently, answering his question while averting her gaze, "Ryos, please. Sit down. It's a long story."

Sighing, he did as she asked and resumed his seat, crossing his legs and waiting for her to elaborate.

And so she did. She told them everything. Even gave them detailed descriptions of the mages they encountered and showed them the new guild mark she sported over her angry-looking scar, as well as pointing out the scar on her face and assuring them that it did not bother her.

"Blondie…" Sting said delicately once she'd finished.

"I'm glad you told us, but you lied to your whole guild about this. Obviously the more people who know, the harder this mission will be. Why are you here, telling us?"

Yukino was the one who answered this time, to everyone's shock. She'd been silent the whole time, moving only to wipe the tears from her face as she listened intently to the woman she considered her hero, "It's because of me".

She looked right into Lucy's eyes, and the blonde nodded slowly, "Yeah. Fallen Star is chasing the Zodiac."

Sting growled low in his throat at the looming threat to his mate. Rogue didn't seem phased, he understood, and celestial mages were frequently the target in evil plots so he was just cataloguing information and thinking through ways to keep his friend safe. Yukino just sat there, looking at Lucy intently, as if thinking something over.

"Lucy."

"Yuki? Look, I'm sorry I brought this on you, I just _had _to warn-"

"Lu, please. Stop."

Lucy quieted.

"Will you take my keys?"

All three others in the room went still. For several moments. Before erupting in protestations.

"Kino, what are you thinking?!" Sting.

"Have you thought this through?" Rogue.

"We've talked about this, Yuki. They are your friends and family. I can't." Lucy.

"SHUT UP!" Yukino shouted at all three of them. Lucy was glad for the silencing runes, because without them she was certain the entire guild would have woken up and come barging in.

Yukino waited for several moments for her friends to get ahold of themselves before starting again, "Lucy, please take them. Not just the Zodiac, take them all. I've been thinking about this for a very long time, and this threat is just finally helping me make the decision. I've discussed this with my spirits and they understand. They are actually kind of excited to make contracts with you, it's been so long since they'd all had the freedom to work together. They want to make contracts with you."

Yukino smiled, then, "I have a duty to them to make sure they're safe, and they're safer with you than with anyone else in the world. I know this is a heavy burden to put on your shoulders, but I need you to protect them. I… I can't do it anymore."

"...why, Yuki? Help me understand?"

"Lu, you and I both know that there is no safe, carefree, and happy life for a celestial mage. Our magic, that ties to the heavens, space, and time itself, will forever and always be capable of accomplishing terrible things in the wrong hands. And the wrong hands will always seek it out."

The white-haired mage took a deep breath before continuing, "I love my spirits, and if the only option I had to keep them safe was to hold onto them and risk my life over and over again for the rest of my life, I would do it," She sighed heavily, but smiled a bit at her friend, "But, that's not my only option, Lu. You're here. And I know, no matter what, you'd never give up your magic or your friends. And you're stronger than I will ever be, and we both know that. I can trust you with them, and I can move on with my life. My time as a celestial spirit mage is over, because I'm not strong enough to do that and still have what I want," she looked at Sting after that sentence, "I can't protect them and protect the child we are about to have at the same time, and my spirits and I agree, that I have to put my child first."

Sting sat, utterly stunned. As did the rest of them. Apparently, the pregnancy was a secret.

Suddenly, once it sank in, Sting shouted in joy and half-tacked Yukino in a smothering hug. The two shared a loving moment that Lucy couldn't help but feel like she was intruding on. Ryos seemingly felt the same, as he stood up slowly and edged his way back to Lucy's side.

After several uncomfortable moments between Yuki and Sting (and several games of Rock, Paper, Scissors between Lucy and Ryos), Yukino spoke up again.

"Besides," she started cheerfully, "all of us know that helping Sting run this place without burning it down is basically a full time job anyway!"

A round of laughs followed her comment as things turned playful once again.

"Please Lu," Yukino asked once again, facing her friend and taking on a pleading look, "I know I'm asking a lot. But please take them. And take care of them. It's what they want. And what I need, if I'm going to be ready to raise a child while dealing with another child as a mate."

Sting and Rogue still seemed a little confused, as giving up her magic and her friends was something they'd never considered Yukino might want. But Lucy, she understood.

The burden of being a celestial mage was a high one, and most people didn't realize that. Even being as strong as she was, and surrounded by the strongest guild in Fiore for years, Lucy'd been abducted and targeted over and over again, and that torture and captivity weren't exacltly the most enjoyable things in the world.

While Lucy wouldn't give up that responsibility for the world, she could see how difficult a life she'd chosen. She'd give her life, and her sanity, for her friends in the spirit world, but even she could see the appeal of finally just _resting. _

Of _not _having to constantly look over your shoulder.

Considering it all seriously, Lucy addressed Yukino, "...Are you positive about this, Yuki? I didn't come here to steal your keys away from you…"

"Lucy, yes. I'm sure," she stood up and approached the visiting mage, pulling her keys from her belt as she went, "And they are too, can't you tell?"

Yukino took Lucy's now guildmarkless hand in her own, placed her keyring in it, and closed Lucy's fingers over the celestial metal. She kept her hands on top of Lucy's and stared her down, silently encouraging her to _pay attention_ to the keys in her hand.

She brought her magic to the surface and pulsed a small amount into the keys resting in her palm. Yukino smiled when she felt the warmth of it, and Lucy smiled when she felt the overwhelming _acceptance_ they keys pushed back to her. Since she started requipping her keys, she didn't get to feel this connection very often, and it was soothing.

'_Lucy, Libra told me to inform you that you're being an idiot, and that you should just take them and make contracts already. If I'm being honest here, princess, they all seem rather anxious.' _Loke voiced in her head.

'_This bond is sometimes still startling, Loke, a little warning next time?' _Lucy chastised through the link, closing her eyes while still feeding magic into the remaining Zodiac keys.

Loke's mental chuckle could be heard through the link, but he sounded a little… desperate when he spoke next, '_Sorry, princess, but seriously. They all just randomly approached me and started staring me down. I'm worried for my safety if you were to turn them down. I'd… uh… appreciate if you did not do that."_

Lucy's laugh was out loud this time, and she opened her eye to smile brightly at the woman still holding onto her hands, "Loke informs me that your spirits mean to cause him bodily harm should I not accept. Is that kind of behavior something I should come to expect?" she asked with amusement lacing her tone.

Yuki smiled and nodded, "Oh yeah. They are very.. Opinionated." she confirmed, "So, you'll take them?"

Lucy studied her one more time, before nodding, "Of course I'll protect them, Yuki. You deserve the chance to just relax and be happy."

Yukino smiled happily and pulled the keys from Lucy's hand. She placed a kiss on each one before addressing them aloud, thanking them for all they had done for her, and handing them back to the celestial mage.

Sting, who seemed to be on his second round of happiness, was practically bouncing from his spinny chair, "You're seriously pregnant?!" he asked his mate again.

The white haired girl just rolled her eyes and confirmed it once more, placing a delicate hand on her abdomen.

As Sting started prattling off about being a dad and how excited he was, Lucy and Rogue seemed to come to the same conclusion simultaneously.

If Yukino was going to be a mother, then Sting...

Lucy and Rogue shared a slightly horrified glance before they both seemed to consider the implications of Sting… being… a… father.

They both shuddered, praying to the gods to give Yukino enough patience to handle parenting both her children and her mate.

…

Over the next hour, Yukino wrote notes to the spirits she was leaving in Lucy's care. She and Lucy both would have preferred she be there when Lucy made the contracts, but as many of her spirits were just too large to be summoned in the office, and Lucy couldn't be seen at Sabretooth, it wasn't possible.

Lucy took the letters and had Virgo deliver them, and sent a pulse of magic through the new keys to comfort them and express her desire to protect them and fight by their side, always. She felt them warm at her side and smiled softly. She couldn't requip them until the contracts were made, so she'd just have to be careful with them at her side until she got somewhere suitable to call them.

The twin dragons had stayed holed up in the office with the girls. Lucy had to leave soon, and they had things to discuss before she left for good. And considering the position Lucy was in, none of them were eager to leave her side until she was gone. They got to spend so little time with her as it was, they planned to make the most of it before she fell off the grid indefinitely.

Sting was still shaking with excitement over the news of his impending father status, and Rogue had been doing his best to calm him down so he didn't blow up the office with excess magic, while still congratulating his brother on the new life they would soon welcome.

"Okay. I think it's time I get out of here. I've been here too long already," Lucy said with a resigned sigh, pulling on her newly dried cloak and boots (courtesy of Virgo).

"Where will you go?" Yukino questioned her. She was worried for her friend and still felt bad about the burden she had placed on her, but was mostly unbelievably excited to bring her future child into an environment where she didn't have to constantly worry for their safety.

"You're sure I'm not asking too much of you? If you can't take them, really, I'd understand," Yukino offered, though somewhat reluctantly.

"Yuki, I can't fault you for the way you feel. Especially bringing new life to the world. You take care of yourself, and I'll take care of your family. Besides, I promised Stache Face I'd protect any spirit I came across to the best of my ability, and that promise can't ever be broken. I'm in this for life, good or bad. And now you don't have to be. But I do have one favor to ask?"

"Anything, Lu," Yuki answered, "What do you need?"

Lucy smiled at her warmly, "Save any key you come across if they are in the hands of someone who would hurt them. There are too few of us left who care about them, and someone has to look out for them. You don't have to contract them or use your Celestial Magic ever again, I promise you, but please save them until I can reach them."

Yukino nodded her head quickly, "Of course! I'd never leave a spirit to be abused. You have my word, and I bet the boys will be on the lookout too. Right?"

Her glare was enough to get quick agreeance from both Dragon Slayers, not that they needed the encouragement. They would have done so anyway.

Lucy smiled once again and thanked her, then turned her own gaze to the boys, looking at them thoughtfully.

"I need favors from you two, as well. If you'll consider them?"

They both regarded her for a moment before agreeing.

"This would all be for nothing if Fairy Tail found out it was all a ruse. I need you to protect this secret. Please, tell them that I stole the keys from Yuki? And make sure word gets out, far and wide, so we take Yukino off Fallen Star's radar for good. Hell, call in Sorcerer's Weekly and have them tell it?"

"Lucy, are you really sure about all this? That kind of move will kill your hard-earned reputation. Probably for good. Hell, I doubt the new council will stand for it without taking steps to have you captured."

Lucy bit her lip, but nodded, "Yeah, I know that. But it has to be done. I'm not taking Yuki's keys just so she can be targeted anyway. And anything that gets back to Fairy Tail to discourage my friends from digging too deeply will only help me protect them."

They all three nodded, though they looked unhappy about it.

"You never answered me, Lu. Where will you go?"

Lucy looked at her friend sadly, "That, I can't tell you. Knowing would only put you in danger. Which brings me to my next favor. I need to stay hidden, and hiding my tracks is pretty much impossible with the way rumors spread around Fiore's magical community."

They all seemed to agree. Rogue asked the obvious question, "So… what are you going to do? I assume you have a plan?"

Lucy's smile turned a bit devious, and Sting shuddered slightly. He'd been on the receiving end of her inter-guild pranks one too many times for that smile to put him at ease. "Oh, I won't be trying to hide my plans at all. That won't work. So I'm going to spread news of my plans across all of Fiore. _All of my plans, _except the real one. I've got my spirits dotting the landscape being sure they are spotted throughout Ishgar. And Gemini, the dears, have been galavanting around the capital cities of all the nearby countries apart from Peregrand - because, no. I'm not even sending Gemi and Mini there. That country is despicable - in _my _form," the glint in her eyes showed unabashed pride as she talked of her plans, "and _you two _are going to help me," she finished, eyeing Sting and Rogue.

Both of them looked at her cautiously, but Rogue motioned for her to continue.

"You're going to 'track me down' for stealing Yukino's keys. For the next month, you're going to take missions throughout the kingdom and give credibility to some of my false leads, and spread more rumors of sightings." The deviousness in her expression lessened as she regarded her two dragon friends, "That is, if you will do so. I know I'm asking a lot, especially since Yuki is pregnant, Sting. But I don't have many people I can rely on these days and I could really use the help, honestly."

Rogue walked up to her and gathered her in a hug, "Of course, Lucy. You're kin. And we owe you a lot for, well… a lot of different things, actually. So of course we will help. You should ask the same of your friends in other guilds as well, but only those you can trust."

Lucy sank into the hug and allowed herself to feel the momentary comfort before pulling away. Moments later she was pulled into the crushing embrace of the White Dragon Slayer, who whispered a soft, "Thank you for protecting Kino, Blondie," into her ear before releasing her and giving her a bright grin that rivaled Natsu's.

"This means a lot to me. Thank you guys," Lucy said to them, adjusting her clothes again and making her way back to the window. She pulled Yukino into an embrace before she climbed back on the sill, and reiterated her promise to keep her spirits safe. Yukino returned the embrace wholeheartedly.

"Goodbye then. I'll see you when this is all over, so I can meet my new niece or nephew." She winked before hopping out of the window, falling into the arms of Taurus, who she'd summoned silently.

The three Sabers watched as she disappeared into the night, giggling softly.


	22. Chapter 22

**Dear Readers, **

**I am stupidly excited about this - I've got the next several chapters done, and I'm confident they are great.**

**I picked up a beta (finally) and she is literally the best thing ever. Shout out to GoddessxNyte2 for all her help!**

**Tell me what you think! Reviews are welcome!**

**As always, I don't own Fairy Tail. Desna owns the Pradesh Family!**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Two days later found Lucy wandering in the dense foliage of the Waas forest, trying to locate Gildarts - without success.

She was thoroughly convinced it was _him _who kept moving away from her but every time she called him on the com he _insisted _he wouldn't have a problem locating her magic signature and to just keep walking north and she'd run into him.

Three hours and a twisted ankle later proved he was _wrong_, and she was over it.

"Gildarts, I swear to _Mavis, _if you don't stop moving I will tear you limb from limb and mail your parts to Cana. Do you understand me? I don't care if you're basically unbeatable, I will fucking _find a way._"

Gildarts was pretty thoroughly surprised at the blonde he knew only in passing, having had the impression she was powerful but mostly sweet and innocent. His opinion seemed to be changing… rapidly.

Because he'd been threatened before, but he'd never been concerned about it. Something in her eyes (eye?) promised pain, and misfortune, and he was finding her threat pretty credible. But, he decided, he would not give in to a fuming blonde girl just because she was scary. Even the thought of it was absurd!

Sighing, he repeated himself gain, "Look, kiddo, I don't know why I haven't found you yet but I can track magic with the best of them. This shouldn't be a problem!"

"Shut. Up. Just stay put and _I _will find _you. _Okay?"

He sighed with a scowl on his usually easy-going face and rubbed his hand through his long auburn hair, "Fine. You've got an hour, sweetcheeks. Then I'm moving again. Keeping still makes me antsy."

Lucy rolled her eyes and cut off the flow of magic to her com without so much as a 'goodbye'. To be fair, though, it was probably at least the fiftieth lacrima call she'd shared with the crash mage and she was very much not in a lets-hold-a-polite-conversation kind of mood.

The celestial mage stowed away her Com Lacrima in one of the several pockets on her short cargo shorts and sighed heavily, trying to calm down and figure out the best solution.

She looked down on her uncovered arms and observed the new marks there with a bit of pride. The two day's she'd spent travelling had not been wasted, and while she'd done no physical training, she'd made significant improvements to her magic already.

Feeling the energy thrumming from Yukino's former keys those few days ago had reminded her of how good it felt to be constantly connected to her spirits. It was a feeling she hadn't quite been ready to give up, and she realized that requipping her keys wasn't the best solution, so she'd started researching a better one. She'd been trying for a full day when the Spirit King himself made one of his grand entrances and scared the daylights out of her, offering a solution.

* * *

*Flashback*

"_Daughter."_

_The deep, and unexpected, voice of the Spirit King greeted her without warning, while she was sitting up against a tree in the forest eating a snack and reading a new pile of books that Crux had thought to bring her. She had been looking intensely through each page trying to find a way to protect her keys without requipping them, and her attention to her surroundings was… well, frankly, nonexistent. She wasn't paying attention in the slightest._

_The King's sudden presence was so overwhelming - and so random - that she jumped in fright, rather violently. She knocked over the entire stack of books, and then fell on top of them, in her frightened scramble to get into a defensive position. She landed in a rather uncomfortable heap on top of several priceless tomes, face down so she couldn't even look at her visitor while she attempted, rather unsuccessfully, to right herself._

_Stache Face's rumbling laughter in that timeless moment (because only _he _would literally stop time just to come visit) was all encompassing, and it just made her flush in embarrassment._

"_S-Stache Face. What the fu-W-What are you doing here?" she questioned curiously once she was finally able to disentangle herself from the literary pile, then paled._

"_Is there something wrong in the Spirit World?!"_

_The King chuckled at her and shook his head, "No, no, nothing of the sort, old friend," he assured._

_Old Friend was more along the lines of the way he usually addressed her. His initial 'daughter' had been a little weird, but he was the fucking Spirit King, and he could call her whatever he wanted. She wouldn't question it. _

"_So…. what is it?"_

"_Daughter," he began, "It has come to my attention that you are searching for a new way to protect your keys."_

_Okay, she decided that it was _too _weird, and she _had to _question it. She had always been a slave to her curiosity, after all._

"_Why do you keep calling me that?"_

"_Daughter?"_

"_Yeah, that. It's weird."_

_If it were possible, Lucy would have sworn that the Spirit King looked… nervous? Abashed, maybe? It was so hard to read his expressions through that mustache._

"_I… I just thought that, since we were so close," he trailed off. Lucy's puzzled expression grew in intensity._

_When had they become close? She'd met the man (spirit) exactly three times in her life, two of them in horrible, terrifying moments! That didn't count as being close…_

_And then she thought about it a little more. He was an insanely powerful spirit that hadn't been called or challenged in centuries - maybe ever. Three meetings (now four) probably _did _count as a close relationship for him. _

_She suddenly felt bad for questioning him._

"_R-Right. Since we are so close…" She prompted._

"_Well," he continued, "I sort of, adopted you."_

"_..."_

_She sat confused. For longer than she should have, but she maintained that it didn't count, since time was technically not running._

"_I'm not underage, Stache Face."_

_Now he looked confused. As far as she could tell._

"_What do you mean? You're just a child!"_

"_..."_

_She wanted to argue, but compared to him… she barely even counted as a fetus, really. He had millennia on her, so she decided not to take offense._

"_Uh. Right. So what do you mean you adopted me? Did you, I don't know, think to ask me about it?" She rolled her eyes. All her spirits were like that (not that he was her spirit, he was the Spirit King, but still), doing things for her, favors for her that turned out to not necessarily be favors. She appreciated it, really, but sometimes it was rather inconvenient._

_Like that time Virgo cleared out every bit of alcohol from her apartment because she'd claimed - in the middle of a horrible hangover, mind you - that she was 'never drinking again'. Or when Loke had hung ornately framed pictures of lions throughout her apartment because she had absently commented that she needed to find more artwork for her walls._

_Needless to say, she was… apprehensive about what the Spirit King was talking about, and what it all meant._

"_Well. It doesn't mean a whole lot, really. Just know that I see you as a daughter," he answered._

_She felt relieved at that. She could deal with that, and really, she'd missed the chance for a father figure with her own dad. And the weird, psueudo-grandfather/father thing she had with Makarov was pretty good, and she'd always looked up to Stache Face and liked him, thought he was reasonable once he'd been called out on his bullshit, so she decided that it could be nice to see him like a father. A really weird, hugely powerful father._

"_Well, that, and you actually inherit on the title and responsibilities of the Starbringer - but then, you would have done that anyway, now that you wield all the Zodiac Keys."_

_Lucy choked on a cough._

"_And well, when you die you'll become a spirit, of course," he said nonchalantly._

_The celestial mage just stared at him with one large, unblinking eye. She didn't really even have words. At least not ones to express the jumbled feelings that she couldn't make sense of. Shocked silence seemed to be the way to go._

"_Oh right! Anyway, daughter, there is a solution to that problem you've been experiencing! I came here to discuss it."_

_Lucy, finally identifying her emotions as a mix of anger (because he'd made a decision so important _for her _without consulting her about it) and pride (because it was really, really incredible that someone so powerful saw her as worthy of something so huge) and gratefulness (because an eternity fighting alongside her spirits was… unbelievably wonderful - especially considering she'd get the chance to really be with Aquarius since she was stuck in the spirit world) and trepidation (because there were definitely downsides to living indefinitely)._

_Seeing no response that could express the way she was feeling, she decided to skip the lecture she was going to give the Spirit King. Because she couldn't decide if it _should _be a lecture. Maybe a giant, heartfelt thank you? Or a demand for more details? It was too confusing, so she left it alone._

"_Oh… okay? What's the solution?"_

"_Well," he began, rubbing at his gigantic mustache, "It won't be easy. Or painless. And it's permanent, so you can't complain about your spirits listening in on your life all the time once you've done it. Are you sure you want to take that on?"_

_The solution sounded promising, and Lucy had already sworn to do everything she could to protect her spirits, so she readily accepted._

"_Of course! As long as the spirits agree. I would never force them to contract with me for the extent of my life without asking them."_

_The Spirit King practically beamed. If he wasn't the embodiment of night, she was sure he would have been shining like the sun. His stupidly huge smile had shone right through his stupidly huge mustache, and he had patted her on the back (with one of his stupidly huge fingers), as he began his explanation. _

"_Your spirits have all readily agreed to this plan. Your Zodiac and your Silver Spirits, that's including the three you just acquired from one Miss. Yukino Aguira."_

_Lucy nodded, unbelievably happy to have such loyalty from all her spirits. Having spirits pledge their service to her for the extent of her life was an incredible honor._

_She sent a mental note to Loke, asking him to communicate her gratitude to the rest of them. He didn't answer, but she could feel his acceptance through their bond._

"_Essentially," Stache Face continued, "You will fuse yourself to the keys you hold. You will be anchoring their gates to you, as a mage and power source, as opposed to their key. Each of your keys will leave a golden, or silver, key-shaped mark on your arm as a focus point for their energy. You will use that spot to summon and open their gate, or their stardress, but keep in mind - this requires massive amounts of power to maintain that many bonds, just as you must supply energy to your bond with Leo to maintain your connection."_

_Lucy took the information in, thinking it over, and deciding that she'd happily supply her spirits with whatever power they needed if it meant she'd be able to connect with them constantly._

_She studied the Spirit King seriously, before asking, "Do you think I have enough power to do it?"_

"_Of course, old friend. It is not a solution I would offer you if I thought it would bring you harm."_

_Lucy wasn't sure why he kept flipping back and forth between her pet names, but she ignored it in favor of thinking over his proposal. _

"_What about new keys I acquire?"_

"_You will be able to connect with them in the same way, should they agree to pledge themselves the way your current spirits have, though you will have to go through the uncomfortable fusing process for each one. Should they not wish to pledge to you, you can always contract them normally, or place them in the protection of the Academe."_

"_Okay… Is there anything else I should know?" Lucy asked. She needed all the information she could get, and Stache Face wasn't known to be excessively forthcoming with information._

"_Ah… Just a few things. We had not discovered this, because you are the first mage powerful enough to successfully summon me on your own power, but the act of summoning me in your battle against the demons seems to have created a contract between us."_

_Lucy's jaw dropped. There was _no way _she was contracted to the fucking Spirit King. No way… Right?_

"_Yes, yes, we were all rather surprised as well. Though - the amount of power it would require to summon me would tax even your immense reserves. The initial summon requires far less power, as I do not arrive at full strength on Earthland. Any summon you initiate from here out, I will be pulling my energy entirely from your power. Keep that in mind._

"_As for the details of the contract," he added, rubbing at his mustache again, "Though I always have time for you, daughter, my responsibilities in the Celestial Realm are immense. I am afraid I must limit our contract to one summon each year. Of course, dire circumstances notwithstanding. Is this agreeable for you?"_

_Lucy couldn't seem to find her voice - something she was beginning to get used to in this conversation. She simply nodded._

"_Very well! Now, brace yourself, let's get started!"_

_*_End Flashback*

* * *

Lucy winced at the memory. She was incredibly honored to have been offered this solution, and to be now known in the celestial worlds as the Starbringer, and to be called 'daughter' by one of the most powerful entities in existence. But when he'd told her it wouldn't be painless?

He was definitely not lying.

She'd felt like she was caught in an unending attack from Natsu, every one of her nerves on fire as she connected with each of her spirits and anchored their gates to her own being. It hadn't helped that halfway through, the pain doubled as her third origin was torn open violently and rapidly pushed magic through every pore on her body.

That had been a rather unexpected, and truly terrible, experience. The power boost was nice, as her worries about being able to maintain the anchors were largely relieved, but if she had to choose between the pain of opening her third origin, and the minor discomfort of the bonds pulling a little more at her magic reserves?

She'd choose minor discomfort. Definitely. Too bad the universe didn't particularly care for her opinion.

Sighing, she reached into herself and felt through her magic. Her connection to her spirits was so much stronger than it had ever been, and for that, at least, she was grateful.

With ease, she could tell that she had three gates open. Remotely, of course, a skill she'd practically perfected since leaving Fairy Tail, as it was her primary method of staying undetected. Undiscovered.

Ophicus had requested being summoned almost immediately after Lucy had recovered. Yukino had apparently rarely summoned her, as she took so much power to maintain, and Lucy couldn't say no. If she wanted to stretch her scales? Lucy would help her do so. So now the gigantic purple snake was slithering around Bosco. She'd been sure to be seen in some more rural towns on the far side of the Grass Sea, but then had retreated to bask in the soothing waters until Lucy needed her to return, and from what the celestial mage could tell through the bond? She was having a lovely time.

And she found that Ophicus's somewhat wicked and snarky personality was something she could get behind. It reminded her, ironically, of Erik. And of her own - usually deeply buried - mischievous streak.

Taurus had been remotely summoned to Minstrel, where he was (unfortunately) likely ogling the locals. Minstrel was known for their beautiful women, and their warm climate meant that their clothing was typically pretty revealing. She could tell, of course, by looking deeper into the bond, but with Taurus, that just wasn't something she wanted to do.

Aries was still in Fiore, though. She was on the Southern Coast. Lucy wasn't sure why she'd asked Aries to do a mission where the goal was to be seen, as the ram spirit was painfully shy. Still though, she'd been spotted by a few beach-goers before she'd gone into hiding, and she seemed to be having a decently good time running from hiding spot to hiding spot.

'_Taurus, can you return?' _Lucy asked him mentally.

She felt his pout through the bond, but he did as she asked without too much mental grumbling.

She felt the small strain she'd had on her magic lift as one of the key-like golden tattoos on her right arm glowed briefly, signalling the closure of his gate. She sighed in relief.

Lucy could maintain three gates normally without issue, she'd been working on that for years. Since she lost Aquarius. Now, at full power, she could open five gates at once and keep them open for at least a few minutes, and that was before her third origin.

But remote summoning seemed very different, and took much more out of her.

She summoned Plue to her side, silently, and asked him if he remembered Gildarts, thinking it was time she sucked it up and found the idiot before he took off again.

Her little dog spirit nodded enthusiastically. Through the bond, she learned that Gildarts was one of the many people the little spirit had suckered into buying him suckers from Mira. Lucy cracked a smile at that, who would have thought that Plue loved puns so much? She found herself more and more grateful for the bond.

"You remember his scent?" she asked allowed. It wasn't until she'd _finally _been able to converse with the spirit that she learned his sense of smell as keen as, well, a dog's. Or a little keener, as he was a magical being.

The little trembling spirit nodded enthusiastically, and grabbed onto her cloak before dragging her to the East, deeper into the forest. Or tried to, he just kind of walked forward until his motion was stopped and did a weird, shaky impression of the 'running man' dance move, as he wasn't _quite _strong enough to physically drag her. She laughed and followed after him.

But not before mumbling something under her breath about, "keep going North, my ass…"


	23. Chapter 23

**Dear readers, I hope you like the happiness exploding from the pages! I like to think I'm funny. I hope you think so too.**

**Thanks again to GoddessxNyte2 for the helpful beta-ing!**

**Mashima owns Fairy Tail, Desna owns the Pradesh Fam!**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

When Lucy eventually found him, he was pacing in a clearing that had most definitely not existed before one Gildarts Clive of Fairy Tail had been forced to wait around in a forest without moving.

Little cubes of what used to be trees littered the ground. Little cubes of what used to be ground littered the slightly deeper sections of ground. Lucy took one look, pinched the bridge of her nose, and decided lecturing him about his magic control wasn't worth the effort.

She just rolled her eyes, letting Plue down so he could visit with Gildarts before he had to go home.

The little dog spirit approached him from behind, as they'd come up behind him, and Gildarts turned to him just before the trembling little dog had reached his destination. He held his arms out wide with eyes closed in happiness and shouting, "Lucy, I knew I could feel your magic coming closer, bring it in for a hug!"

Lucy, who had made her way to the northern part of the mage-made clearing to check out a particularly interesting pile of rubble, nearly stumbled and fell right into a hoard of miniature bunnies. Thankfully, she caught herself, but her sputtering in shock rendered her speechless. Because Gildarts, who was very much _not _facing her, was sensing Plue's magic and assuming it was her own. Which it clearly was _not. _And the pieces were suddenly starting to fall into place, as to why a self-proclaimed expert in all things magical tracking and magical sensing couldn't manage to find a single celestial mage in a relatively small forest.

She narrowed her eyes, crossed her arms over her chest, and waited for him to realize what had happened because she wanted to see how deep of a hole he would dig for himself.

After a few moments with no response from the celestial mage that he was _certain _was standing directly in front of him, Gildarts opened his eyes. Instead of being greeted by a bubbly blonde young adult, he spotted the tiny, trembling creature known as Plue pulling on his pant leg.

He was surprised, but didn't waste any time in reaching down and enthusiastically scooping the spirit into his arms, "Oh, hey Plue! Where's your master?"

Lucy, for all her forgiving qualities, and her caring personality, had always had a pretty significant temper (she frequently wondered if she was so forgiving out of habit, as she got so angry so easily that forgiving quickly was kind of… necessary). Which was only made worse by the fact that her body was still sore from the rapid opening of her third origin two days ago, and the fact that she'd been limping for the last hour on a twisted ankle that she had injured tripping over a particularly nasty tree root. A tree root that she would have avoided altogether if it hadn't been for this overly confident mage standing in front of her _insisting _that he could pick out her magic and find her. _Even after _she'd told him that several of her spirits were out and about in random parts of Ishgar.

And it was _hot. _She was _sweaty. _A combination that never failed to make her explode into a fit of rage at the most minor provocation.

White hot anger coursed through Lucy's veins, "I'm here, Gildarts," she finally spoke up from the wizard's left. She spoke with a deadly calm tone, shooting a glare at the oblivious man who'd forced her to run in circles for _days._

"And for the last time, I'm _not his master! _I'm his friend! Plue," she added, voice taking on a genuinely sweet and caring quality, "head home, okay?"

Hearing Lucy's dismissal of her spirit, Gildarts gulped. There was no mistaking the anger in her tone, and if it was bad enough that she didn't want Plue to witness it? Yeah, he was in trouble. Though he still hadn't quite figured out what for.

He may or may not have started chanting a mantra in his head, over and over. It may or may not have been something about tiny blondes not really being able to hurt him. Something about Scary Lucy not being real.

"Pun!" Plue answered happily, and sealed Gildarts fate as he disappeared in a flash of gold.

Gildarts instincts didn't seem to believe the things he was chanting in his head. No matter how many times he repeated it. The Century-Class Mage just stared at her, trying hard not to cower. Hoping that Scary Lucy (who was _obviously _very real) couldn't smell fear.

"You mean to tell me…" Lucy began, "That you've been trying to track me _all day, _and didn't even have the _fucking _ability to tell the difference between my magic and my spirits?!"

Oh. Gildarts thought he was starting to understand what he'd done wrong. Because, well, she _had _warned him that her spirits were out and about in random parts of the world. But, he didn't know they would throw off his tracking! He hadn't thought of that!

Truthfully, he wasn't a great thinker, in all reality. He just kind of crashed through things.

Literally.

"Uhh… I didn't know you all had the same magic?" he responded lamely, holding up his hands in some kind of 'surrender' gesture. If he'd had a white flag, he'd have been waving that fucker like his life depended on it.

"LUCY KICK!" she shouted, catching the man off guard as she connected with his stomach and sent him back several… inches. He was fucking indestructable, and damn it if that didn't just piss Lucy off more.

The man clutched his stomach and doubled over (a few seconds too late to be a genuine reaction), and he had barely _moved _so she was more than pretty sure it was just for show. Maybe so Lucy didn't get it in her head that she needed to repeat the gesture to get her point across.

She screamed in frustration and just glared at him, "You IDIOT! They _don't _have the same magic. They have their own, they just use mine as a base! If you were actually skilled at tracking, or even just _sensing, _you'd be able to feel the difference! UGH!" she stomped her feet like a petulant child. Not that she'd admit to the action if asked later, "I can't believe I wasted my whole day on this when I could have just found you myself. Stupid, egotistical-"

She kept up the string of insults for several minutes. He was pretty sure she started speaking Minstrellan there for a while. He even thought he caught a little bit of Boscan and Old Fiorian before she finally gave up ranting and just sat heavily on the ground and just kept up with the glaring.

As physically hurting him to express her frustrations was clearly not an option. She made a promise to herself there and then that she'd use every bit of training he gave her to get strong enough to make him at least _wince. _Or _something. Some _outward sign of minor discomfort when she struck him.

She'd been silently attempting to kill him with her single-eyed glare for several minutes before he spoke up, "Ah… Well… Sorry?" Gildarts offered meekly, sitting down next to her as well.

She rolled her eye at his less than comprehensive apology, but felt her anger dissipating. If only slightly.

Lucy felt a tug at one of her bonds, and a slight warmth on the underside of her right forearm, as the pink maid popped up to Lucy's left. Virgo gave her an almost sympathetic glance (if you could read it past her expressionless features) before turning to Gildarts and handing him a thick letter envelope, sealed with a wax and a tiny version of the guild's symbol stamped on it.

He took it and weighed it in his hand, raising an eyebrow at Lucy. She ignored him.

"Thanks Virgo. Did you want to go somewhere today?" Lucy asked her loyal spirit. She had enough energy to re-open a gate somewhere on Ishgar, and as Lucy didn't particularly care where she was leading her false trails, she'd been letting her spirits pick places they wanted to see again. Without having been there herself, she couldn't make them exact, but she could put them in the general area where they wanted to be.

Virgo nodded quickly, "Yes, actually, princess. If you wouldn't mind, I'd like to visit Iceberg for a while."

Lucy had no clue what there was to see in Iceberg, but decided not to question it and just smiled at her spirit, "Alright. Let me know if I miss. Go on back, I'll get your gate open!"

Virgo disappeared, and Lucy groaned and fell to her back, sprawling over the one clear spot in the ground that was still grass in exhaustion. She still had magic, but the concentration it took to keep everything going was… intense. Her brain was tired.

She closed her eyes, and silently summoned Virgo's gate to Iceberg. Or she thought she did. Her aim still needed improvement.

Gildarts watched as one of the gold key tattoos on Lucy's arm glowed softly and he felt the pulse of her magic next to him. Huh. That was new.

He didn't know Lucy's abilities that well, but he was pretty sure she'd never had those tattoos before. And also sure he'd never seen that weird, squiggly tattoo on her collarbone before - though she'd been covering up more of her chest in the last few times he'd been to the guild, so he guessed it could have been there. And he's also pretty sure he'd never seen that weird, upside-down star shaped tattoo over her heart.

He'd never really witnessed her abilities. He wasn't lying, though, he did have a good magical sense, and she'd always had a lot of magic power, but as she never flaunted it he never thought to take notice. Now?

Seeing some things he'd never known celestial magic to be able to do, he had some questions.

Lucy was clearly exhausted, though, and he had a letter to read, so he decided to save those questions for later.

Gildarts carefully unsealed the letter and began reading it as Lucy slipped into a sort of meditation by his side.

Three pages and several minutes later Gildarts could be heard whispering quietly in the clearing, "What the fuck have you gotten yourself into this time, kiddo?"

He'd assumed Lucy had fallen asleep, or was just meditating so deeply that she wouldn't hear him, so he was surprised by her tired voice responding to him.

"Don't call me kiddo, you overconfident geezer."


	24. Chapter 24

**Readers, I'm not quite done posting for the night. Hopefully you're excited, because I wrote _so much_. **

**Desna owns the Pradesh family, Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

It was two weeks, and three Fairy Check-Ins (as she's come to call her chats with Laxus and/or Gramps) later when Gildarts finally asked to meet all her spirits. He'd seen several, but he couldn't help her with strategy if he didn't know them all - a sentiment she agreed with.

Though, she disagreed that she needed help with strategy, to which he only glared at her until she rolled her eye and caved.

That was the day she told him about Aquarius, and for the first time, Lucy accepted a hug from the overly-affectionate crash mage as he thanked her for saving everyone - especially Cana - when he hadn't been there to help. He'd also assured her that it was very much _not _her fault, and though she knew that, and she knew that Aquarius didn't blame her either, the guilt she felt refused to leave. She was certain she would live with it until her last day, and she was kind of okay with that. She felt like she deserved it, somehow.

She'd shed no tears, something that surprised her, but she was proud of the strength she was gaining. For the first time in years, she felt like mentally and emotionally, she was growing and moving past her pain.

They moved past that conversation quickly, as it was _extremely depressing_.

Lucy had decided to just pull out each spirit under her contract one at a time, whether Gildarts had met them or not, just to go through their strengths and their magic types with the crash wizard.

She started with the Spirit King - not calling him, obviously, because she could only do that once a year and she wasn't about to waste it - but she did tell Gildarts about him. Explaining that no, she had _no idea _what kind of magic he used, or his strengths, but that she was pretty sure calling him would mean the very end of her enemy.

Maybe the end of the world, because he was powerful as fuck, but she didn't feel like mentioning something like that only to have Gildarts squeeze a promise out of her to never call him. So she kind of… glossed over that bit. And by that, she means she didn't mention her concern at all.

After that she called Loke, who rolled his eyes and only said, "You should know my magic by now…" before disappearing of his own accord.

Taurus was next, and she ended up forcing his gate closed when Gildarts and Taurus's conversation strayed from 'magical capabilities' to the every popular topic of 'Breasts or Butt'. Specifically, Lucy's.

Lucy quickly decided that a demonstration with her newly achieved stardress would be enough of an explanation for that particular spirit's strengths.

Cancer came out next, and instead of speaking of his talents, he immediately cut Gildarts hair (much to the older mage's annoyance). Lucy refused to ask Cancer to change it back, because to be honest, his shorter hair made him look significantly less homeless.

And she told him so.

The result was a pile of whining mini-Lucy's climbing all over her mentor for over an hour, and a Gildarts who's hair was still rocking the much shorter hairstyle. Apparently, mini-Lucy's screeching in one's ear for over an hour made a little unwanted haircut seem… acceptable.

Once Lucy had reassembled (something she thought was a _very _odd sensation overall) and had gotten a few smug jabs in about his new look, she summoned Virgo, who immediately listed off her talents.

Lucy and Gildarts both thought that the encounter was going to be their first normal one, until Virgo pranced over to Gildarts with that same stoic (but hopeful) look in her eye and begged the man for punishment. She even said please. More than once.

A red-faced Lucy had quickly pinched the pink-haired maid's shoulder gently and sent her on her way. She heard loud, satisfied squealing from her mental bond with the spirit for over an hour after that, and had insisted on taking a break to deal with her headache.

They ate lunch, Gildarts easily cubing up the meat for a stew over the fire, and enjoyed the silence for a bit. Lucy was still dealing with Virgo's squealing, but Gildarts, at least, had thought it peaceful.

When Lucy had finally been able to block out her spirit's uncontainable excitement, they began again, this time Lucy calling out Libra.

The spirit was… interesting, to say the least, and Lucy found herself wondering how the soft-spoken, kind Yukino had ever managed a contract with the woman. She was quiet, rarely spoke, yes, but as the spirit of scales and judgement, she was very… Judgemental, for lack of a better word. Lucy liked her immensely, but she tended to teeter between judgy and mean - amusing as hell when it was directed at Gildarts - and overly _traditional _(kinda like Erza and her steadfast defense of Lucy's _honor_).

That particular spirit got right to the point, explaining her abilities in as few words as possible, before eyeing Gildarts like he was the scum on the bottom of her shoe. She didn't say anything, but her squinty-eyed stare spoke volumes, and she kept it up for a few minutes before finally disappearing of her own accord.

When Libra finally left, Lucy doubled over in laughter, pointing at her mentor and mumbling something about pervy old men. She did have a mental link to said spirit, after all, and the wordless stare she'd given Gildarts hadn't exactly been _wordless_ to Lucy.

The celestial mage recovered after a few annoyed glares sent her way, and called out Saggitarius. He immediately saluted her, and nodded to her mentor, before calmly and efficiently explaining his abilities.

It would have been the most normal interaction of the day, if it weren't for the fact that Gildarts had never seen the spirit before, and was… extremely thrown off when Lucy called for a 'centaur' and proceeded to summon a 'man in a horse suit'. His face was priceless.

Aries was next, and she didn't explain her abilities at all. She just popped out, hid behind her shirt, and apologized as Lucy explained the spirit's strengths to her trainer. She smiled warmly and patted the spirit's shoulder as she sent her away. She found it pretty intriguing that, through the bond, Aries mental voice was much stronger, almost snarky. If she could get over her shyness, she'd likely be best friends with Ophicus.

Speaking of Ophicus, she was next. Lucy summoned her, but quickly had to send her back because both she and Gildarts got squished under her scales. She was massive, truly, and they just hadn't had enough room.

When Gildarts stood back up and helped Lucy to her feet, he asked about her abilities, to which Lucy didn't have an answer. She asked through the bond and her only response was something like '_I'm a huge snake, what do you think?'_

Lucy repeated this to Gildarts, who nodded as if he'd received some actual information.

Rolling her eyes, the celestial mage called for Scorpio, who had been waiting all day for the chance to chat in person with Lucy. Upon arriving on Earthland, he gave his signature hand motion, shouted "we are!" (a phrase Lucy still didn't quite understand. We are what?) and then pulled the blonde into a crushing hug. She would have returned it, but her arms were pinned down painfully to her sides.

"Aquarius sends her love," he told her, to which Lucy likely would have sprung happy tears, if it weren't for her confusion. The scorpion spirit sensed her lack of understanding through the bond, and went on to explain, "She told me to drown you, but we both know what she really meant," he cheered happily, to which Lucy giggled.

She asked him to say hello for her, and dismissed him.

Gildarts pointed out shortly after, as the celestial mage was still standing there, staring at nothing with a smile on her face, that she'd never actually explained his abilities.

That knocked her out of her happy memory Aquarius time, and she proceeded to explain the scorpions affinity for sand before calling out Gemi and Mini.

Gildarts, for as powerful and terrifying as he could be, was a sucker for cuteness. He immediately got little stars in his eyes and hugged the two blue spirits close to him, until they suddenly transformed into the man himself.

That came as a surprise to Lucy, who explained incredulously that they could only copy those people who's magic power was at an equal or lesser level than her own. Gildarts was not surprised, and would have praised her for her strength were it not for the fact that the mischievous little spirits started spewing all his most pervy thoughts concerning the celestial mage out loud. In front of said mage. While he wasn't shy, he wasn't quite sure how far the little bastards would go, and so he quickly clamped a hand over the mouth of his copy and commanded that Lucy send them home.

Lucy blanched, because through the bond she heard what the little mischievous spirits pointed out to her, and she quickly sent them away. Deploying the same blocking efforts on the bond that she had with Virgo's earlier that day, until they both moved on to some other piece of gossip to go on and on about in her mind.

Capricorn came next, being of the last two Zodiacs she had to summon, and as the only spirit in her family that she was certain would behave normally. Thankfully, she was not wrong.

He spoke to Gildarts politely, informing him that his specialty was hand-to-hand combat and that he had always been Lucy's primary magical coach since she'd obtained his key. He bowed to the both of them, and then left on his own.

Lucy took a deep breath, thankful that at least one of her spirits didn't leave her mentally exhausted and half-insane.

"You ready for the last Zodiac, Gil?" Lucy inquired. She'd given up on using his full name last week, claiming it was too long and that she thought his name was stupid. He had wanted to be angry with her rude statement, but he had honestly always hated his name, so he left it alone.

"Yeah, go for it, kiddo," he said, almost tiredly.

"Open, Gate of the Paired Fish, Pices!"

Gildarts stood to the side, and was only mildly surprised when a _massive_ two-headed fish thing that just materialized into thin air, accompanied by an excessively large shower of golden celestial sparkles.

A few minutes passed in relative silence, and Gildarts just cocked an eyebrow when Lucy suddenly shouted excitedly, "Alright, thank you so much for explaining! You can go on back now!"

Both sides of the spirit lowered their heads in a slight bow towards her, before disappearing into another large cloud of golden magic.

Gildarts just looked at her, confused.

She looked back, wondering what was so confusing.

"Lucy, if you had a conversation with that odd-looking massive fish-thing - which, by the way, how does that work? Do spirits have normal bodily functions, like, potty breaks? I'm confused - then you had it in your mind and I have no idea what you talked about."

The blonde slapped a hand over her scarred eye in a face-palm type gesture, "Oh, right. I must be getting senile - hey, is your age contagious?!" she asked him, falsely affronted.

The crash mage dropped his deadpan expression to glare at her, "Oh shut it, you insolent brat," he shot back.

Lucy giggled. She found Gildarts to actually be a really good teacher, and she enjoyed her time spent with him. He was fun.

Not that she'd ever admit that out loud.

"Why are you giggling?"

"You sound like Gramps," she giggled out, doing the pointing and laughing thing again, "See, you _are _old!"

Gildarts just rolled his eyes and waited for evaluation of Pisces the Weird Fish Creature Thing. Which she did shortly after, making sure to inform him that it was actually weak to water and shouldn't be used in a setting where it might get wet.

He found that odd, as they were _fish, _but throughout the course of the day he'd come to find that all her spirits were odd, and didn't comment on it.

Deciding a break was in order, they both sat down near their campfire to take a breather.

They'd been sitting like that in comfortable silence for nearly half an hour when Lucy's slightly anxious voice spoke up.

"So, we should get out of this forest before we do anything else…" Lucy said, suddenly thinking through the day they'd had so far. "Uhm ... yeah, it's not like any of my spirits do a great job hiding their energy, and we just spent a whole day summoning them all to one place. We… should go. Now."

"Shit. Didn't think 'a that," Gildarts commented dryly, making no move to leave.

Lucy heaved herself to her feet, laughing, and grabbed Gildarts' hand to heave him to his feet as well, "You never do, Gil. What else is new?" she teased.

"Hey, I have my moments!," he defended, "Actually, I'm having one right now," he added.

"We should probably leave the country before the end of tomorrow, before news of your 'crimes' gets far enough that border crossing becomes a massive pain in my ass. Laxus said yesterday that the Rune Knights were driving themselves nuts chasing their tails, and were considering warning other countries"

Lucy agreed with this, chuckling a little at the image of a surly Captain Lahar travelling all over Fiore trying to track down the spirits that were nowhere near her.

Virgo helped them pack up their stuff, and they started making their way out of Fiore, heading straight to the border with Seven.

"Hey Gil?"

"Yeah, what's up?" he asked, yawning.

"When do you want to meet my silver key spirits?"

"Fuck, you mean there's more?!"


	25. Chapter 25

**My beta is the best: GoddessxNyte2**

**Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail, Desna owns the Pradesh Family. **

**Enjoy!****  
**

* * *

"Here, you talk to her," Gildarts spoke through the com, before tossing it over Lucy, who was sitting beside him with a faint sheen of sweat on her skin. They'd spent the morning working on her physical training, of which she freely admitted was her greatest need.

Not that she liked it. In fact, she hated it.

Unfortunately, Gildarts had pointed out that her magic was expanding too fast, and that if she didn't train her body enough to handle it, she would likely fall ill. In fact, they were both a little surprised that she'd not done so already, considering how much magic power she already had access to. She didn't really have room to argue against physical training.

So, here she was, sweating like a pig, in the worst heat known to man (seriously, wasn't Seven _North _of Fiore? Shouldn't it be _colder?_), having just gotten done with two hours of running around in circles picking up random boulders at the discretion of a twisted old man.

It hurt to _breathe. _It shouldn't hurt to breathe. She was sure.

Lucy scowled at the aforementioned old man, as she snatched the small device he'd tossed her out of the air. She grumbled something about not being able to talk if she couldn't even breathe, but looked into the device anyway to observe the man at the other end of the feed. Her eye softened and lit up happily when she turned her attention to Laxus.

Despite her protests, her voice was strong and she didn't seem be struggling too excessively with her breathing when she spoke up, "Hey, Sparkles!"

"Blondie, of all the ridiculous nicknames you've given me in the time we've known each other, I take the most offence to that one, _by far. _I don't _sparkle," _he protested vehemently.

Lucy allowed a small smile to grace her face as she shrugged. Her nonchalance irked Laxus a bit, and he felt obligated to give her an eye roll, but mostly he was just glad to hear from her - so he quickly let it go.

"So, Destructo is actually making you work hard. Good to know."

"Yeah, the guy's a freaking lunatic. I'm convinced he's gotten some lacrima recorders hidden around here, and is making a fortune sending comedic videos of my various 'training' exploits - and my frequent failed attempts at them," she shot another glare towards Gildarts briefly, "Any news out of Sabretooth recently?"

Laxus looked his fellow blonde over, as much as he could through the tiny lacrima com, before nodding slowly. "Yeah… Lightbulb and Emo Hair are out for your blood, apparently. They called every single Fairy Tail guild member that owns a communication lacrima, demanding answers. Even called up the old man when he was in the middle of the guild hall and made a big fuss about us letting you go instead of turning you over to the Rune Knights after they heard about the Fallen Star incident… Did you really take that girl's keys?"

The questioning in the Thunder God's tone hurt just a little, that he would think she'd actually be capable of doing something so completely despicable. She raised a brow at him, frown firmly in place, but didn't offer a response.

"Look, Lucy, I get that you're trying to be public enemy number one or some shit to make sure the guild doesn't suspect anything, but isn't that… a little far? I mean-"

Lucy cut him off angrily, "Laxus, are you serious?"

He looked at her, a little sheepish, but continued regardless, "There's very little I'd put past you if it were to protect celestial spirits, Blondie, so don't give me that look."

She considered this for a moment, and decided she rather liked being known as a fierce protector. And he wasn't exactly wrong, if she for one second believed Yukino and Sabretooth weren't capable of protecting the remaining Zodiac she wouldn't have left them there.

"Alright. I've decided not to be offended by your lack of faith in me. No, I didn't take her keys…"

Laxus seemed to release a breath he didn't know he'd been holding.

"Well, actually, I did _technically _take them-"

"What?!"

"Oh calm down, Blondie, and listen to me. I took them, but only because she asked me to. She had reasons, a lot of them actually, but they aren't really mine to discuss with you. The only thing you really need to know about it is that Sting, Ryos, and Yukino are aware of everything, so if something goes wrong and you need help on your end, they'd be willing and able to assist."

She thought that over for a second, a finger to her scarred lips, "Actually, I probably should have told you that weeks ago. My bad."

Laxus, who had been working mostly alone for weeks to find scraps of information, found that he was… more than slightly annoyed.

Lucy kept talking, pretending not to notice the scowl on her brother's face, "They're pursuing this because I asked them to, it's to help keep me and my location from being discovered, and before you ask," she looked at him sternly, "no: they don't know where I am, where I'm going, so they aren't a liability."

Laxus sighed, letting go of his frustration and he simply nodded in the affirmative. He'd been worried as hell ever since Rogue called him looking ready to kill. He's gotta give the kid props, his acting was pretty freaking convincing, "Yeah. Alright, I get it. We've not had much traction in finding anything new on this end, but we're doing everything we can to stay silent, so it's been very slow-going. Speaking of, I did need to ask your opinion on something."

"Hm?" Lucy responded, prodding him to continue while cleaning the dirt from under her fingernails.

"Right. So the best source of information on virtually unknown Dark Guilds is-"

"No."

Sighing, Laxus continued, "is Cr-"

"Lax, I swear to Mavis, if you bring Jellal in on this, the next mage I hunt down will be you."

Said mage pinched the bridge of his nose before continuing, "Lucy, if we want any kind of edge on this fucking guild without letting them know that you're whole fucking exile was a giant misdirection, then we _need to involve _Crime Sorciere. It's was really only a courtesy that I asked you beforehand!"

Scary Lucy seemed to be more prominent in Lucy's life these days, as evident to Gildarts by the dark aura surrounding his new trainee for the second time in the last three days of physical workouts (the first time was an event that he was never, ever going to speak of again), when before he'd only heard tales of the near-legendary being.

"Laxus Antony Dreyar," Lucy glared daggers at the wizard, "you will _not _involve Jellal in this. I won't even have to come up with a threat for this shit, because if you even so much as _think _of involving Erza's boyfriend and one of my closest friends in this after every fucking thing I've sacrificed, after every horrible, heart-wrenching things I had to say and do to convince them not to follow me and put their lives in danger, I will turn Virgo loose and just, I don't know, _forget, _to set limits on how far she can go to punish you. I've _mastered _remote gate-opening in the last few weeks, and I will put it to good use without a second's hesitation. Do you understand me?"

Lucy could _feel _Virgo's excitement through their bond. Her key practically vibrated with joy at the prospect, which sent imperceptible shivers down Lucy's spine that she had to fight to keep from showing.

Laxus seemed much paler than normal, but based on the determined, albeit somewhat anxious, expression on his stupid face, he wasn't backing down this time. _Scary Lucy must lose some potency through the com. Damn it._

Before much else could be said between the two fuming blondes, a door was heard opening and closing quickly on the Fairy Tail side of things and Laxus blanched further, trying to pull the com away from view as fast as he could before someone saw him conversing with the recently-exiled Light of Fairy Tail. But as fast as Laxus was, he wasn't fast enough and the com was plucked from his hands with a shout from the irritated lightning mage.

Lucy and Gildarts were given a good view of Laxus's office floor (which was _disgusting, _so much so in fact that Lucy wasn't quite sure how it was even physically possible for him to have made such a mess in the three weeks she'd been gone, because she was very sure it wasn't like that before the group had left for the S-Class Trials) for a few moments while they heard muffled arguing.

"Shut it, Sparkle Dick. I heard everything anyway, Greenielocks hasn't found the rune yet that can block my magic."

There was some cursing and a bit of shuffling, and a very quietly muffled '_I don't sparkle' _heard from Laxus' office_,_ before a very annoyed maroon-haired man popped up on the com, locking a single piercing eye on the celestial mage.

"Heya, Tinker-Tits. Long time, no hear. As much as I hate this _sparkly_ fucker, and as much as I _love _that sadistic hell maiden of yours, he's right. You're not gonna find shit on your own. Now, how's about you tell me why the fuck you decided to go dark without saving my wretched ass from the lollipop guild first?"


	26. Chapter 26

**Last chapter for now, dearies! I'm still working on more, so don't be too sad!**

**Thanks to GoddessxNyte2 for being the world's quickest and most thorough beta!**

**Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail, Desna owns the Pradesh Characters (who we will see more of soon).**

**Enjoy! And please review!**

* * *

Lucy brightened at the greeting she'd received from her favorite Poison Dragon Slayer. Well, really, the only Poison Dragon Slayer, but who's counting? He was a good friend, one of the few who knew just how messed up her head was sometimes, and it had been almost a year since she'd heard from him or the rest of Crime Sorciere.

"Erik!," she squeaked, "Sugar-bear, how are you!?"

Erik just rolled his eye. He should have expected her to ignore his question in favor of jumping into her asinine small talk, she always did. She hated his 'rude non-greeting tendencies' and outright refused to converse until the pleasantries had been exchanged, the motions gone through. He'd told her endlessly that no one asks 'how are you' and actually wants the genuine answer, stating that _he knew for a fact_ that they didn't, as he could clearly hear their lack of interest. So there was no point in asking or responding to it. To which she had simply responded, 'Well, I want to know,' which he… couldn't refute. She did want to know, he could hear that, too. And it was annoying.

So, this happened. _Every time they spoke._

He'd jump into his own twisted version of a civil conversation (which was really more like an interrogation than anything). She'd completely ignore any important items on the day's agenda and initiate pointless small talk until she was satisfied, most of which Erik would refuse to respond to. He'd argue the pointlessness of it all and she'd refuse to respond to it.

And the vicious cycle would continue until they finally got around to a real discussion. It was exhausting.

One day, one of them would give in and they'd start a conversation like normal human beings. It was bound to happen eventually. Then again, they were probably the two most stubborn and ridiculous wizards in Ishgar. Well, probably in all of Earthland.

So it was also likely they'd be like this until the end of time, or until one of them kicked the proverbial bucket, whichever came first (and since the Infinity Clock thing, they'd all realized that the end of time happening wasn't quite as far-fetched as they'd been led to believe).

"Really with this shit? Again?"

"So, you're doing well? What about Meredy?"

"Bright Eyes, just shut the fuck up and answer my question. And Bubblegum is annoying as shit, as per usual."

Lucy smiled wider, "Sugar-Bear, I can't shut up _and _answer your question. Mutually exclusive actions, there, bub. How's Macbeth?"

"The narcoleptic is just as sleepy as ever. What the fuck is with you calling me Sugar-Bear? And please for the love of your fucking stars, answer my question before I melt this desk." Another grumpy noise of protest was heard from behind where Erik was propped up against Laxus' desk. It was ignored.

"Sugar is my favorite poison, and you're kind of like a big, prickly teddy-bear. Besides, I have Ophiuchus now, so I can't call you snake charmer anymore. So, is Sawyer still doing well? I heard he challenged Jet a couple weeks ago," she said conversationally, inspecting the nails of her free hand.

"Sugar doesn't kill you in one go, so it doesn't count, Tink. What's this fucking dark guild you're chasing, and why the fuck is your obnoxiously pink guildmark not sitting on your hand?"

"Hm," Lucy hummed, lowering her hand and looking back at the com, "Sorano? She's doing well?"

"Sorano is ready to kill you. In fact, she ditched the Criminally Insane Brady Bunch yesterday, when she heard a rumor about you taking her sister's precious keys. Nobody's seen her, but it was Macbeth's day to watch her, so I'm confident that it's not my problem. It is probably _yours _though. And for the last time, what the hell is going on? Damn it, I hate communication lacrima. I can't hear your soul and you're being particularly frustrating right now."

"How's Richard?"

* * *

"Orga! Where did you see that traitorous bimbo?"

Orga rolled his eyes. He was pissed about the whole thing, but Sting was _always _over the top. And he _never _listened to the words people spoke to him.

"Sting, I _told _you. I didn't see her. I saw her horse-man spirit….Stegosaurus?"

Yukino, despite _really wanting to giggle _at the name, kept an angry and upset expression on her face as she piped in, "Sagittarius?"

The lightning god slayer just shrugged, "Yeah, sure. I saw him outside Era on my way back from my last job. I lost track of him though and I can't ever figure out the scents of friggin' spirits so I couldn't follow. You think she's headed South?"

"Hm. Maybe. She and her team once had allies on Galuna Island, if I'm not mistaken. Maybe she's planning on heading through there on her way to Minstrel?" Rogue offered. He didn't know exactly where she was going, but Minstrel was not the best choice of a first stop for her, so he figured leading the search down that way would be a pretty safe way to ensure she wasn't caught. _Hope you're out of Fiore, Lu. Things are going to get dicey here pretty quick…_

Sting put a hand to his chin and turned his attention back to the large map they'd pasted onto the wall of the guild hall. He pinned a large cutout of a chibi-Scary Lucy (which he made himself and was _immensely _proud of) to the area just South of Era, "Right. We'll get her. Let's send a team to search."

The blonde walked to the bar and sat down heavily, ordering a beer. After a moment he called to Rufus, "and get Lamia Scale on the com! I want them on the lookout for that Boobs-For-Brains Blonde!"

Rogue and Yukino were certain of two things.

One, Sting was taking this as an opportunity to relentlessly and without mercy take revenge on their fair-haired kin for every prank she'd ever successfully completed on him (which was quite a few) and every nickname she'd bestowed upon him in the last few years of their friendship.

Two, Sting's vocabulary (or complete lack thereof) would forever and always prevent him from coming up with a decent insult.


	27. Chapter 27

**Dear Readers,**

**I hope you like chapter 27! I have a few more chapters done but I am still confirming exactly how I want it all to play out, so be patient, I'll have some more chapters out soon.**

**As always, I feel compelled to remind you, Fairy Tail is not mine (it's Mashima's), Pradesh Characters belong to Desna. Also keep in mind, if they aren't portrayed perfectly, that's because I'm not perfect and writing them isn't always easy. If you want to know exactly how they exist in Desna's world, check out her stories! They are awesome!**

**Another thank you to GoddessxNyte2 for being a wonderful Beta!**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Every day, Lucy felt stronger. Something she was extremely grateful for.

Really, she was.

But she couldn't exactly say she'd been _enjoying _herself. Especially not on days like today.

Her and Gil were supposed to be leaving Seven today, heading into Bosco and toward the Academe Cellestine, after having spent three weeks in the hot, arid country.

Not only was that _not _going to happen, she was now facing several more days of intense training when she'd prepared herself for the break that was travelling across the country.

And no, if you'd asked her two months ago, she would not have considered travelling across an entire nation on foot in the middle of a heat wave a break, but here she was.

This was her life now.

"Gil…. what do you mean, we can't go to Bosco yet?" she whined. She'd been trying not to whine so much, really she had, but even she had her limits.

Gildarts rolled his eyes at her, "Lucy. You're the one who recruited the most overzealous guildmaster in the history of guildmasters to 'fake' chase after you. Why would you not have predicted that he'd go far enough to make things somehow _more _difficult for you?"

Lucy, as much as she wished she did, had no answer for that.

When you don't have a well-thought and intelligent argument? Go for the next best thing: pouting.

"Don't give me that look, kiddo, it's not _my _fault that Sting decided to contact every major guild in every major country in Ishgar to look for you," Gil pointed out.

Lucy found that she still had no answer for that, so she decided to pout harder.

Gildarts rolled his eyes, and was about to yell at her to get back to doing the rest of the five thousand pushups he'd ordered her to do when he suddenly tensed and took up a defensive stance. He looked quickly toward the south side of their 'training grounds' (that was really another man-made clearing), tense and ready for a fight.

Instead of watching as a group of Rune Knights or other such authority figures enter the clearing, Gildarts heard a bark of laughter from a somewhat familiar voice, that then proceeded to berate him from several yards away, still hidden in the shadows, "Oh, relax, you old perv. I'm not here to arrest Bright Eyes."

Lucy, who had tensed as soon as she saw Gildarts doing so, instantly relaxed.

Then decided that squealing was the appropriate reaction.

"ERIK!" She shouted, earning a shouted, "Shut the fuck up, Tink!" from the sensitive-eared slayer, who was just making his way into full view.

He tried to rub at his ears, but soon found his hands full as a small blonde woman full-body tackled him to the ground in her excitement. Had… had she always felt like a fucking freight train when she did that?

Erik found himself dazed and confused, flat on his back on the ground, hands pinned to his sides and an overly excited, bouncing blonde woman with one eye perched on top of him. She was bracing weight on his chest and smiling down at him like he'd just saved the fucking universe. Twice.

"How are you?" she asked warmly, amusement dancing in her eyes.

"We are not starting that shit again. Not a chance. Now get the fuck off of me you crazy bimbo!" he protested, squirming under her enough to extricate his hands and pull her in for the briefest of hugs (that he would deny having done if asked) before pushing her harshly off of his person.

Lucy, unperturbed by his rather unhappy greeting, rolled off of him and hopped easily to her feet, and found herself saying the one thing she'd thought she'd _never _say aloud. To a dragon slayer, no less.

"Fight me, Erik!" she said, bouncing from foot to foot.

The poison slayer blanched, and stood to his feet quickly. Wasting no time, he strode over to his blonde friend and put a hand on her forehead as he stared into her eye intently, "...are you sick?"

Lucy pushed shook his hand off and laughed, shrugging, "Nope. I'm just ready to kick your ass! Gil's been making me train like a fucking crazy person."

Erik's gaze switched over to Gildarts, narrowing his eye. Apparently finding nothing in Gildarts soul that would cause Erik's dragon to commit murder, said slayer turned his attention back to the girl in front of him so he could eye her critically.

"...you sure about that?" he challenged, a hint of a smirk on his face.

"Of course, cyclops! I can take ya!"

Erik didn't respond, simply took a few steps back and took his own defensive stance (she'd never dropped hers).

Just as he was about to launch an attack at her, he seemed to process her words, "O-oi… what the hell? You only have one eye too!"

Lucy just grinned, "Yeah? Laxus and Sting are blonde, so what's your point?"

If Erik couldn't read souls, he'd have been very confused at the mention of the other two dragons. As it was, memories flooding from the mage explained that both mages frequently called her 'Blondie'.

Cobra sighed, "My _point_ is that you're smarter than them. You can do better," he clarified.

Lucy grinned mischievously, "Careful what you wish for there, Sugar Lips…"

* * *

Four minutes later, on the dot, found Lucy crumpled on the ground, hardly able to move.

Apparently, one needs more than improved strength to win a fight. Like, some fighting skill. She had exactly one physical attack, and a Lucy Kick was less than practical in every situation.

She'd have donned Capricorn's stardress, but she… hadn't had time.

Lucy flipped onto her back from where she'd been sprawled on her stomach and kicked her feet in the air, "Damn it! I need to train harder!" she complained. Gildarts cracked a smile, but Erik looked a little unhappy.

The three fell into a brief silence while Lucy whined and rubbed at her various, newly-forming bruises, until something apparently occurred to the blonde.

"Wait."

She turned, fixing her eye on the dragon slayer who had crouched to her left, checking her over for injuries, "What are you doing here? How did you find me?"

Erik scowled at her, "I'm here because you left me with no fucking option, Bright Eyes, and you know it! You've been doing that pleasantries bullshit for _weeks, _just because you know I can't hear your fucking soul through a com, you sadistic wench!"

Lucy couldn't refute that. Her first conversation with the dragon slayer since leaving Fairy Tail was three weeks ago, and in all the com-feed conversations she'd had with the man since then had been, almost exactly the same as the first. She knew it was mean, that he just wanted answers and to possibly offer to help, but she had found that teasing him in such a way had become her main source of entertainment after a long, gruelling day of training.

She should probably apologize. Or look sheepish. Or at least show some form of shame.

At the prompting from Ophiuchus and Aries through their bond, she did none of those things, and went with the choice she'd really wanted to.

So she laughed. In his face.

He growled and plopped down next to her, crossing his arms over his chest and glaring as hard as he could (which was, typically, a terrifying thing - but unfortunately, he'd always struggled to glare properly at the celestial mage in front of him).

"What's so funny?" he asked harshly.

Gil, who had been standing a few feet away hugging a photo of Cana, decided he needed to join in the group. He plopped himself down next to Cobra and was about to pat him on the shoulder in a friendly gesture when said mage glared at him. It likely wouldn't have stopped him if not for the glimpse of a thin layer of purple mist surrounding the dragon slayer.

Gildarts decided to retract his hand. Slowly.

"I...I'm sorry Erik," Lucy giggled out, "It's just that I so rarely get to tease you, ya know? I couldn't help myself!"

"Tch." Erik rolled his eye.

Lucy reached over and patted at his shoulder in a 'there, there' motion. Gildarts looked affronted, as he'd almost been poisoned for doing that very thing.

Seeing this, the celestial mage stuck her tongue out at him.

"Oh, whatever. So _now _are you going to tell me what's going on, Tink? Or do I have to pull it from your soul?"

Thinking on that question, Lucy shrugged. She was actually kind of curious.

As Erik narrowed his eye and started listening in to her soul more intently, as she clearly was not willing to give him an answer.

After a few moments, Erik's brows furrowed in confusion. He closed his eyes, seemingly trying to focus harder on his listening abilities. When that didn't seem to work, his hands clenched into fists where they rested on the ground next to him.

"What… what the fuck did you _do, _Bright Eyes?"

Lucy's giggle was like a tap-dancing centipede on Erik's nerves. He was certain that this time, if she did _one _more thing to anger him, he'd actually get up and murder her just to be done with it. Kin bond be damned.

"You know," she said thoughtfully, "That nickname doesn't work anymore."

Gildarts snickered. Lucy stifled another of her frustrating giggles.

Erik realized his mistake. He'd thought his frustration would cause him to murder his kin. Now that she'd reached that ever-precarious tipping point and jumped right the hell over it, he realized that it wasn't a murderous rage he was feeling. It was utter, soul-crushing defeat.

So he gave up, falling to his back and sprawling over the ground, covering his face with his hand like it would help him block the smug satisfaction practically radiating from her soul. Radiating because not only was _she _smug, but so were every fucking one of her goddamn spirits.

And he could hear all of them. It was like some fucked up 'I am legion' shit, and if they weren't all sparkly fucking rainbow unicorn souls, he would have been convinced she'd been possessed by the entire court of hells demons.

He was still trying to decide if that would have been better or not.

And it didn't help his mood _at all _that they were so fucking jumbled around in that soul of hers that he couldn't pick up on _any _specific train of thought. Hell, he wasn't sure how _she _could hear her own thoughts.

When Lucy had finally gotten enough satisfaction out of Erik's frustration (she felt it was enough after she'd heard a muffled 'kill me now' from the slayer in question), she heaved herself to her feet and pulled Erik up by his limp arm and back into a seated position.

"Alright, alright, I'll tell you. Though why you didn't just listen in on Laxus is beyond me."

"He zapped me. I'm an asshole, but I'm not stupid. I decided my health was more important than getting answers from a walking thunder cloud," Erik informed her.

Lucy bit her lip to stop from giggling, and continued, "Well, what do you want to know?"

"Let's start with why the Snarky Feather Duster is running around Bosco looking for you, with the sole intention of tearing your heart from your body?"


	28. Chapter 28

**Dear Readers,**

**I have so many chapters for you that I can't possibly write good notes for them all. So I'm just gonna leave this here... and go work on posting the next one...**

**Disclaimer: Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail, Desna owns the Pradesh Characters, and my beta (GoddessxNyte2) is the greatest person ever.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Three months later, and Lucy was starting to _wish _for the horrible heat of Seven. Because Iceberg was cold. Very, very cold.

The cranky poison slayer to her right seemed to agree with her, but she didn't find comfort in the fact that he was also miserable. Mostly because he was also being _annoying as fuck._

"Fucking hell, Bright Eye, why'd you pick the worst fucking climate in the world to train hand-to-hand combat?"

Lucy didn't respond. Because they'd been _over this already. _She didn't 'pick' it. She didn't want to be there any more than he did! Though it was technically her fault that she didn't give Sting more specific instructions, she had no way of knowing that he'd go so far as making her a continent-wide most wanted person. She vowed, there and then, to find some way to get him back for going overboard.

Honestly, she couldn't figure out how he'd managed to be so fucking stupid when he had Ryos to keep him in line. Wasn't that shadow-boy doing _anything _to reign in his partner?

Lucy thought on that for a second, and for just a moment, didn't feel so bad about her own circumstances. Because she had no doubt that Rogue, despite being in a warm climate, was dealing with more bullshit than she was.

Her quiet chuckle earned her a glare from her companion, who seemed offended that she had found some sort of humor in this frozen wasteland that passed for a country.

"I swear, one day I'll get you back for dragging me into this frozen over slice of hell," Cobra muttered her direction, and then proceeded to snuggle further into all fifteen of his jackets. Literally, there were fifteen of them. They'd stopped by a store when they first crossed into Iceberg, and when he'd come back from browsing she thought he was joking when he dragged thirteen jackets back with him.

He bought them without a second thought and hadn't even cracked a smile. Erik's dislike for the cold was extreme.

Three days later, when he'd asked if he could use her jacket too, she thought he was kidding. Again.

He was not.

Virgo had ended up bringing him another one from the spirit world, and finally, that one seemed to keep him warm enough that he had agreed to step out of the tent they'd been using. Still, he seemed reluctant to move.

Lucy was thankful, for the millionth time since she'd pulled it off, that her bonds with her spirits kept him out of her head. Because he surely would murder her, in cold blood, if he heard her thoughts on how cute it was that he acted like a literal cold-blooded snake in the snow. She was also pretty sure he'd follow it up with some clever pun that she wouldn't even be able to laugh at, as she'd be dead.

It was a fate she was happy to have avoided.

Lucy looked at him, wondering (not for the first time) how he managed not to trip all over himself when he didn't even have his eye poked out from his jacket-and-scarf cocoon, "You're the one who volunteered, you know. You can go home any time you want."

Erik rolled his eye. Or she assumed he did, as Lucy couldn't see it, "Yeah right. You're a fucking trouble magnet, one. Two, you managed to convince one of the scariest mages I know that you stole her precious sister's keys," at this he did pop his head out to glare at her, "you _will not _repeat that I called her scary. Ever."

Lucy sighed but nodded.

"And three, you were in desperate need of help with combat skills when I was ready to leave. Based on your training lately, you're _still _in desperate need of help.."

"...whatever."

* * *

_*Flashback*_

"_It's been three weeks, Tinker-Tits, I'm heading out," Cobra called to the doubled-over celestial mage. She'd just gotten done lifting a series of ridiculously large boulders for three hours, while maintaining all her bonds and three of her golden gates (Ophiuchus, Aries, and Libra - Gil had insisted, saying they were the only three he could trust not to shout encouragement her way, like that was some kind of horrible thing), and her Capricorn stardress. Lucy was pretty sure the stardress had more to do with Gil enjoying the view than actual training, but there wasn't exactly anyone she could report the sexual harassment to out in the middle of a Sevenian forest. _

_You'd think Erik would have dealt with Lucy's perverted trainer, considering how protective he was over her, but he seemed only to find it amusing. The celestial mage was convinced his allowing it to continue (and even encouraging it) was because he was getting back at her for having found a way to block out his listening magic._

_Lucy stood up fully, wiping the sweat from her brow, "Alright…"_

_Erik frowned at her small voice. She'd been lively for all three of the weeks he'd been around, and he didn't like the sadness she was clearly feeling, though she was trying very hard to hide it from him._

_As if she could. He didn't need his soul listening magic to feel her through their bond. Honestly, it would have been obvious to him even without it, he knew her tells. _

_He was thinking of what kind of socially acceptable behaviour he was expected to perform to comfort her (Hug? He didn't do hugs. Ruffle her hair? Damn if that wouldn't be awkward as hell…) when she took the choice away from him and hug-tackled him just as she'd done when she arrived._

_Erik grunted, and found that she'd knocked the wind out of him. This time when he tried to wiggle his arms free, her muscular thighs kept them pinned to his sides. He could probably get out of it, but he'd hurt her doing so with how much force he would have to use. _

_She'd been working incredibly hard to gain strength the last few weeks with him there (providing beautiful and helpful commentary), and the month before that, and he could tell. Not only because of her painful as hell tackles (she really needed to adjust to her newfound strength) but she physically looked different, and her magical presence (which had always been obvious before, even to someone who rarely noticed that kind of thing like Erik) had become more imposing, and somehow felt more… stable. _

_He assumed it was because she'd been operating for fucking years with her magic capacity far outclassing her physical capabilities. Now that she was finally giving her magic a good, solid foundation to latch onto, he was starting get a good picture of how ridiculously powerful she was. _

_He was terrified for anyone who crossed her once her training advanced further, because she was already pretty fucking formidable._

_Gone was the soft-faced, soft-hearted teen with the open smiles and lazy, lackadaisical attitude. She'd stopped complaining so much, and when she did whine, she only did so while in the middle of rushing to do the task she'd been given. _

_She also wasn't the reckless, grief-fueled moron she'd been the last few years. She stopped hiding that mark on her chest that she was gifted from Aquarius, stopped wallowing in guilt over what she'd done. Lucy still felt guilty, but she'd found enough sense to stop focusing on it._

_Erik had known her for a long time. Had known how hard she'd pushed herself after she lost her mermaid. _

_This time, was somehow different. He couldn't hear her soul to identify the difference, but he imagined it was a combination of just, you know, growing the fuck up, and the fact that this time, her guildmates had actually gotten hurt. Badly._

_During Tartaros, her sacrifice had saved everyone except her spirit. And her spirit was perfectly safe, just out of reach. This time, she'd been hurt severely, lost her eye, and had been the target of an attack that crippled and nearly killed a large number of Fairies. On top of that, it was an opponent that got away. _

_Revenge, he knew from experience, was a powerful motivator. He'd have to keep an eye on her, though, because if she started doing all that reckless, throwing-herself-into-danger shit, he'd kill her himself. He wasn't about to deal with the stress of feeling her in danger through the bond every few days. It was driving him batty, and he wasn't far off from full out insanity as it was._

_A lighthearted smack to his face brought him out of his evaluation, and he almost, almost (as in, close enough that he had to choke down the roar he was preparing instinctively) poisoned Lucy when he realized that she'd actually had the nerve to smack him. In the face. As it was, he just decided that he didn't care about any minor injuries he'd cause when he escaped her hold._

_He didn't get the satisfaction of enacting his plan, as she rolled off him a second later and offered her hand to help him up, like nothing happened. _

_The poison slayer grumbled and ignored her hand, standing up on his own and becoming more annoyed as he realized she'd actually managed to bruise his arm where her strong as fuck legs had clamped it down to his side. _

_Rubbing at it, he made to leave the clearing. He was about to shout out a 'Later, Polyphemus,' when he actually took a second to listen in on the conversation she'd started with Gildarts._

"_What's next, oh wisened mage among mages?" she asked sarcastically, arms crossed over her large bust. _

"_Actually…" said mage began, and hearing what the man's soul was saying, Cobra stopped in his tracks, "I don't think there's anything left for me to teach you…"_

_Lucy, who had been bright and bubbly and determined for the last two weeks, surrounded by both her Kin and the man who had become her greatest mentor, dropped her arms in shock. Her soul, including those noisy as fuck spirits who constantly held overlapping conversations in her head, went nearly silent. _

_Fuck. Erik found himself unable to leave, not if it would mean she'd be alone. Not if it meant her soul would take on that irritating as fuck depressing tone. He turned around to observe the scene._

_Gildarts was rubbing the back of his neck in a move that reminded Cobra (unfortunately) of a certain flaming idiot dragon slayer. With Lucy's spirits so quiet in her head, he heard her making the same connection, and it only made her soul keen pathetically. Erik nearly groaned at how quickly her attitude had shifted. _

"_I heard from Cana. She's… not doing well. I need to go make sure she's alright," Gil put a hand on her lightly muscled shoulder comfortingly. _

"_Lucy," he said, causing said wizard to raise her head and face him, "I wouldn't leave if I thought you weren't ready to be on your own. You should keep working on strength, really with how much magic you have, you're always going to need to work for balance, but you've reached the point where you don't need me here to direct you anymore."_

_Lucy felt, for the first time in months, tears prick at her eyes. She forced them away, "I still can't fight. At all. You mean this is all I'm gonna be able to do, is support my magic?"_

_Gildarts rolled his eyes, and pushed a small amount of magic into his hand. Lucy felt a painful jolt, but otherwise nothing happened. She glanced curiously at the crash mage, tilting her head._

"_Last time I did that, you fell into a pile of miniature celestial mages," he explained, "you've gained more than just strength. Now that you've improved your physical self, your magic is able to meld better with it, and makes you more resilient, bolsters your strength naturally as well. This was the goal, what we were working for, and you've achieved it. Now I'd have to actually exert myself to divide you into tiny versions of yourself," he chuckled that last part. Mini-Lucy's were the highlight of his week (as it did happen every week, he made sure of it). _

_Lucy looked shocked. If Gildarts had to guess, she hadn't counted on improving so rapidly. She had a nasty habit of underestimating herself. _

"_Like I said," Gildarts continued gently, "You're not done. Not even close, this is just step one. But step one is all I can help you with. Magically, you're stronger than I am, and your goat spirit thing is better equipped to help you with that anyway - frankly, meditation and magic core expansion? Not my thing. And being around you when you work on that would suck, your magical presence is no joke," he flashed her a grin, "And as far as combat goes, something tells me your eavesdropping friend will be better at teaching you hand-to-hand than I would be," he finished, nodding toward the grouchy slayer who was still standing a little ways off, staring at them._

"_He's leaving," Lucy said with a frown._

"_Nah, I'll stick around. This old man doesn't know shit about fighting anyway. There's no better trainer than a dragon slayer to teach you how to kick ass," Erik said, approaching her again with a cocky smirk on his face._

_Gildarts gave the man a grateful smile that Lucy couldn't see. He hadn't been lying about Cana, she was not taking the whole thing with Lucy well at all, and he didn't trust that asshole Bacchus to keep her out of trouble._

"_Anyway, kiddo, I'll keep my ears open for news about that guild. And any questions, anything gets too nuts, call me. I'll come right back if you need me, but for training? You're more than equipped to continue that with your spirits and Cobra."_

_They hadn't said much more on the subject, but knowing that her kin was staying with her had made that little sad violin quality of her soul's sound quiet, much to Erik's relief. Her spirits started using their bonds again shortly after dinner that day, after she'd come to terms with the situation, much to Erik's annoyance. _

_With Lucy, it was always a balancing act. _

_They shared a quiet breakfast the next day before packing up camp, Lucy and Erik travelling to find another temporary training spot further north, and Gildarts travelling back to Fiore to find Cana and annoy the depression out of her._

_Before he'd turned around to leave, Lucy had given Gil her warmest hug, tucking her head into his chest and whispering a heartfelt 'thanks, you overconfident geezer'. He patted to top of her head gently, his eyes soft, whispering his own, 'you'll do great, kiddo'._

_*End Flashback*_

* * *

Whenever Lucy thought back to the day she'd 'completed' her physical training, she found herself thinking about Cana. Hoping she was okay. Knowing it was most probably her own fault for hurting the card mage with her 'betrayal'.

Gil had _said _she could call if she needed anything, and she badly needed to check in on her friend, but she just couldn't bring herself to do it. Lucy was focused on the future, on her training, and on finding and destroying the threat to herself and her guild. She was afraid any news of how they were all hurting would set her back, and she just couldn't afford it.

"Hey Erik?"

"What?"

"Are we going to train today?"

Erik scoffed, "Of course. But it's cold as fuck so you're calling Gemini out, no way I'm losing any of these layers just to put you on your ass again."


	29. Chapter 29

**Dear Readers,**

**I'm just gonna leave this here... and go work on posting the next one...**

**Disclaimer: Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail, Desna owns the Pradesh Characters, and my beta (GoddessxNyte2) is the greatest person ever.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

"I'm sorry, Kaleb, but she's smart. There are differences in her magic and her spirits' magic, but with it all over the place it is proving extremely challenging to pick it out. If I just had a few days to really track it, on the ground, I might be able to find her, but with the Steel Council pulling me away for missions so much lately..."

The mage didn't need to finish his thought. Kaleb was well aware of how demanding the Steel Council had been as of late, as his own brother Vander hadn't been free enough even to make it to Palerno to see Bickslow, who'd been in Bosco for months after having been banned for years. Bloodhunters were normally busy, pulled in on missions more frequently than other commissioned mages, but lately it had been… excessive.

That was another of the many problems on his list of things to deal with, but not his current focus. Nor the most frustrating.

Sighing, he spoke his response into the com, "I understand, Presca. Thanks for trying. Let me know when you get back to White Sea, and keep Van out of trouble."

"I make no promises," the energy mage advised, "but I'll do what I can."

Kaleb nodded and signed off, placing the com down and studying the map of Ishgar he kept on the far wall of his office. Normally he used it as a reference, but over the course of the last month it had gradually been turned into some kind of "Celestial Mage Tracker", yellow pins in it for every sighting of the mage herself or one of her spirits. At the end of the first week they had started actively searching, the sightings had been concentrated mainly along the southern border of Fiore. Now? The map had more yellow pins than there were cities in Ishgar.

With no discernable pattern.

He'd figured out quickly that she had somehow managed to be sending her spirits to random locations to help throw her trail. It was incredibly impressive, especially as according to the Academe Cellestine, celestial spirits generally could only be summoned in the same location as their mage.

Based on the sightings they had seen, Lucy Heartfilia had proved that theory incorrect.

Once he had figured out what she was doing, Kaleb decided the best way to figure out where she really was to find any areas where sightings hadn't been reported. Thinking that perhaps, she'd have been avoiding having her spirits sighted wherever she actually was.

A close review of the map had revealed that the only places where she hadn't been spotted were in unpopulated areas - mountainous valleys, forests, places where no one was likely to spot anyone.

Sure, that's probably where she was. In one of those unpopulated places. But which one? Ishgar was a very geologically diverse continent. Several countries had unpopulated mountainous regions. All had lush forests that were not meant for human habitation. Iceberg in and of itself was hardly populated at all. They had six major cities where ninety percent of their population resided, and the rest was rather deserted. Desierto was much the same, though they had a few more rural communities centered around the occasional water source. Joya was so tight-lipped about what happened in their borders that a lack of sightings there meant next to nothing. There wasn't a single sighting in Peregrande, but Kaleb wasn't exactly surprised by that. Lucy was a woman, she'd be stupid to hide in a country that thought she was essentially livestock to be bought and sold. He'd send Van there to do a cursory look around when the man managed to come home for more than three days at a time, but he didn't believe the shadowquip would find anything.

Kaleb had told the guildmaster of Sabretooth that White Sea would expend whatever resources they had to bring the girl to justice. The young man had been livid, and understandably so, as it was his pregnant dragon mate that had been wronged, and Kaleb felt compelled to assist.

Especially as, at one point, the culprit had belonged to his brother's Fiorian guild.

He'd had a personal interest in finding her anyway, as Bickslow - who had been staying with him in his guildmaster suite in White Sea for the last month - spent nearly every waking moment of his time brooding over the girl. His confused thoughts concerning Ms. Heartfilia were causing real discomfort to Kaleb in the form of frequent headaches, as Bix was thinking through everything so loudly, and in such close proximity, that the mindbender found himself struggling to tune them out.

He circled around to sit heavily down on his desk chair, rested his elbows on the desk, and continued staring at the map as if it would magically provide him answers. Stats. Some minor percentage differences between the rates of appearance in each location that would crack the case, solve the mystery. He rolled his eyes, as if that could happen.

Or… could it?

Kaleb Pradesh spent the rest of his day designing and developing a new program for his lacrima system.

Hours later, when he went to save his notes regarding said project on his lacrima, he named the note file "Celestial Mage Tracker", before logging off and heading back to his quarters.

* * *

"Erik, what is even the point of all this training if I can't beat you?!"

The poison mage in question flicked her forehead, glaring at her, "Don't you ever use that brilliant fucking brain of yours, Polyphemus?"

She rubbed at her forehead angrily, then proceeded to punch him in the shoulder. Hard.

He tried not to wince, cursing himself for not dodging. He knew better.

"Tink, I've been training my whole life with this shit. You're good. A natural, and you're picking this shit up faster than I expected, but it's not like you're just gonna fucking wake up one day and be able to beat me."

Lucy sighed. He was right. She was just getting antsy. Her magic had been on edge for the last two weeks or so, and it made her nervous. And every time she lost to a heavily bundled Erik, she felt that much less prepared for whatever was coming next.

"Right, right," Lucy conceded. Though she didn't like it.

"Besides, I haven't been letting you use those monster legs for a reason. I value my life."

Lucy rolled her eyes. She knew he was just placating her, but it was working a little anyway. He did have a point after all, her Lucy Kicks had gotten more powerful than she'd imagined they ever could. It's just that she couldn't land a hit on Erik. Or Capricorn, when she sparred with him instead. Or Loke. Or even Aries. Though, her spirits got stronger as she did, so that they could keep up with her shouldn't have been a surprise.

Erik pinched her cheek to get her attention, "did you hear me?"

"Huh?" Lucy responded intelligently.

"I _said, _we need to figure out the plan. We've been in Iceberg for too long - don't look at me like that, Bright Eye, I'm not saying that because I'm _cold,_" he _was _cold, but he wasn't lying. He brought it up because they'd been in the same country for two months, and since she'd started her magical training on top of the combat and strength training, they were more visible than ever.

And Erik had to admit, Gildarts had been correct when he told Lucy that being around her for her magical training was a bad idea. The first time she'd released and manipulated her full magic power during a meditation, he'd been over a hundred yards away and still felt like he couldn't move. Since then, they'd been travelling constantly to stay hidden, but they were running out of new places in Iceberg to camp out.

"I know, you're right. But I've been putting it off. Laxus says White Sea is still working hard to find me - which, by the way, don't let me forget to test my new abilities on Sting when this is all over - and I really wanted to get more information on my magic by going to Stella next. But it's just… too close to Bosco. Bellum might be the only option, but there are far less open spots to hide there. We will have to move on from there quickly."

"So we will do that, problem solved. Besides, Cotton Candy says she's closer to finding out information on that dumbass guild you're after. By the time we need to leave, we might be regrouping with your moronic Fairies and finishing this shit once and for all."

Lucy felt both excited and apprehensive about that, but didn't have any better plan, so conceded.

"Okay, fine. Bellum it is. We'll make our way there starting tomorrow. There is just one problem with that…"

Lucy took the poison slayer's simple stare as a request to continue.

"We are kind of on the other side of the country. It'll take us a month by foot to get to the border. At least."

"Oh, damn it! Is it gonna be this fucking cold the whole time?" Cobra asked, instinctively tucking himself back into his numerous layers (this time, giving up on visibility totally as he covered his whole head with a scarf Aries had made him out of pity).

Erik heard her giggle, she knew he did, but he seemed reluctant to tell her off at the expense of the warmth he'd found himself in.

* * *

"Ow, fuck!"

"Oh, stop whining, Polyphemus! Get your shit together and hit me."

Shaking out her hand, Lucy winced, "What the fuck are you wearing that just broke my hand?"

Erik pulled off two layers, which were - oddly enough - the only layers he'd decided to wear that day, despite the fact that they'd been delayed by several weeks and were still stuck in Iceberg.

Sting was going to die at the end of all this. She'd heard that Laxus had threatened him so severely that he had stopped his idiotic attempts at 'helping', but now that White Sea was involved, they'd been sending out random patrols throughout several countries to find her. She had no idea why they'd seemingly taken a personal interest in her capture, but it was getting seriously challenging to do any form of travel.

She decided focusing on her travel problems wasn't the most pressing need, though, as Erik's Gray Fullbuster-esque stripping session had revealed a fucking _suit of armor. _In gold.

One that she (unfortunately) recognized.

"Where the hell did you get that? And why didn't you warn me before I fucking punched you, Flower Power?!"

"Loke gave it to me, 'Phemus. It's got some kind of enchantment that keeps me warm. And I didn't warn you because this was more fun. What the fuck is with 'Flower Power'?

Lucy kicked him, and much to Erik's disappointment, the armor was less effective when up against her foot rather than her fist. He frowned down at the dented metal compressing his ribs as if he were a five year old who just dropped his freshly-bought ice-cream cone.

"You're favorite poisons are from these really pretty flowers - yes, I noticed, don't try and deny your flower fetish, Erik - and you get power from poison. Ergo - Flower Power. Actually… I like that one. It might stick. Besides, you keep calling me Polyphemus and I have no fucking clue what that is," Lucy said, trying really hard not to feel bad about how sad Erik looked at having lost the warmth of Regulus.

'_Loke. You have some other kind of Regulus-Charged clothing?' _Lucy questioned through the bond. She and her spirits had gotten better at separating themselves a bit, so they only invaded each other's mental space when they did so on purpose.

'_What happened to my armor…?'_

'_A-about that…' _

Loke's disappointment was felt through the bond once he'd paid more attention to her thoughts and figured out what was wrong.

'_Sorry, Loke,' _Lucy apologized.

"Polyphemus is character from Old Minstrellan Mythology. He was a sheep-hoarding cyclops," Erik spoke casually.

"LUCY KICK!"

Loke cut off his access to the bond, trying not to be upset at the literal million-year-old armor set he'd kept in mint condition for as long as he could remember, and the dents and scrapes that now littered it.

* * *

"Ow, fuck, what's you're problem, psycho?!"

"Stop whining, it's a spar!"

"But you _hit _me! How _could _you?!"

Lucy scoffed, "That's exactly the point, poison breath!"

"Yeah, but it's _cold. _Everything hurts more when it's cold, you're not supposed to hit me when I'm shivering."

* * *

"A year, huh?"

"Yeah," Lucy said, sitting next to her kin around the campfire Loke had lit earlier that night. They were approaching the border of Iceberg and Bellum, after having spent an exhausting four months splitting their time between training intensely, hiding, and running from patrols. They'd gotten into a few scuffles, but thankfully, not with any of the Boscan teams that had been frequenting the area. That would have likely resulted in the swift deployment of the entire four-thousand member guild to track her down.

She'd never met the man, but she knew of the guild's master Kaleb Pradesh. He was known for his ability to capture mages no other guilds could. White Sea was the most well known light guild in the world, and had a reputation for shutting down dark guilds and tracking down dark mages without difficulty.

Lucy couldn't help but feel like she'd been locked in some kind of invisible battle with the Boscan wizard saint. The more time passed, the more mages she saw everywhere. From the information she'd gotten from Makarov and Laxus in her weekly check ins, the guild was out in full force, with mages in each major country in Ishgar.

While it was certainly challenging, and inconvenient, Lucy felt secretly thrilled at having bested the man for so long. She couldn't help it, she was competitive, and so far she was victorious. Against the youngest, most powerful wizard saint in Bosco. Probably in all of Ishgar.

Erik noticed her extremely smug smirk, and picked up on just enough from her soul to understand why she was sporting it. He couldn't help but mirror her sentiment. Winning was satisfying as fuck.

Lucy took a deep breath, "I wonder how everyone is doing… A year later, you think they've forgotten about me?"

Erik looked at her closely, "Nah. You're unforgettable, Polyphemus," he teased.

She punched him in the ribs, and he felt a small amount of relief that none of them cracked. She was starting to act like that lunatic, hammer-wielding red head with how often she forgot her own strength.

At the risk of his safety, because he could hear a small echo of the sadness in her soul that she used to carry constantly, he threw his arm over her shoulders and pulled her roughly into an awkward side-embrace type thing, "We're not far off now, Bright Eyes, chin up."

"I've only got-"

"I swear to fuck, Lucy, if you ruin this very rare, sparkly unicorn shit sentimental moment by telling me, for the eightieth time, that you only have _one eye, _I will poison your food for the rest of your damn life."

Lucy's giggle was music to his ears, chasing away that lingering sadness in her soul.


	30. Chapter 30

**Dear Readers,**

**I'm just gonna leave this here... and go work on posting the next one...**

**Disclaimer: Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail, Desna owns the Pradesh Characters, and my beta (GoddessxNyte2) is the greatest person ever.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

"You can't be serious. We've been stuck in the world's coldest fucking country for the last five months, and we are _finally_ warming up as we approach the border with a country with a _normal, bearable _climate, and _now_ you're telling me you want to instead enter the country unanimously voted 'most likely to imprison, rape, and breed any woman in it's borders' by its peers every year for the last century?"

"...yes."

"No."

"Erik…"

"Let me repeat. No. No _fucking _way."

Lucy grumbled something about stubborn dragons. Erik heard it all clearly, like he did most everything, and he glared at her in response.

"'Phemus, there's not a chance in hell I'm letting you go into that country."

"My spirits all agree. Whatever has been agitating my magic, for the last four months, is _in there._ I don't know why, but I know I have to go."

Erik pinched the bridge of his nose, "Why did I have to claim the most ridiculous mage in the universe as my Kin?"

Lucy pinched his arm, "Because you're lucky as fuck, and you also got the most amazing kin in the universe. You're welcome for that, by the way."

Frustration rising, Erik resorted to violence.

He pulled the hair tie from the high ponytail she was wearing, and before she had enough time to do more than rub at the pulled hairs on her scalp, the poison slayer flicked the band at her face.

"..."

"..."

"You're the worst," Erik informed her.

"What?! You're the one who just fucked up my hair!"

* * *

Kaleb raised an eyebrow.

"So, finally have a free moment, do you?"

Vander strolled in to his brother's office and plopped himself into the nearest chair, exhausted. His long dark, red-streaked hair was disheveled and his red eyes, normally energetic and mischievous were blank, dark circles under them, "Yeah, yeah. You said you needed a favor?"

"I needed the favor five months ago. Where have you been? Dad's been worried, and Bix is here, wondering if he'd get to see you before he took off back to Fiore. He's been home for over a year and his team has been asking him to return," Kaleb told him, brows furrowed in concern.

Van waved him off, "I talked to Bix already. Promised I'd go to Fiore and visit since I missed so much time with him while he was here," some of his trademark playfulness entering his eyes for the first time, "There's bound to be a few repressed ladies… or gentlemen… that need my expertise over there."

Kaleb rolled his eyes at the thoughts running through his brother's head, "Careful with that, little brother."

Vander just smirked.

"Are you really up for that favor I needed?" Kaleb inquired, not wanting to tire his brother even further.

"Yeah, I'm good. I'm officially on leave for the next month, Presca's holed up with an injury so I've got some freedom. What do you need?"

Kaleb put his elbows on his desk and rested his chin on his hands, regarding his brother critically, "You remember that celestial mage from Bix's guild that apparently went dark?"

"Lucy Heartfilia? Isn't that the girl you've been failing to track down for the last eight months? Yeah," Vander leaned back in his chair, putting his hands casually behind his head, "I know who you're talking about. Apparently, she's hot. You saying I get to go meet up with her?"

"Unlikely," Kaleb said dismissively, "But possibly. I need you to head to Pergrande and take a look. It's the only place she hasn't had any sightings, so while it's a long shot, it's worth checking in to see if she's there."

Vander shrugged, grinning, "I can do that. A bit low on Magic right now, but I can head out tomorrow."

"That works. Thank you," Kaleb said, pulling up his Celestial Mage Tracker on his lacrima feed, "Oh, and if you do happen to find her, please, don't sleep with her. She's a dark mage."

"...yeah, I can't promise that."

Another heavy sigh, "I know… was worth a try."


	31. Chapter 31

**Dear Readers,**

**This is the last chapter I've got to post today. I'll have the next one ready soon, so... don't hate me when you get to the end.**

**Please, if you love me... review. I'm dying here, I need validation!**

**AND DON'T FORGET - Desna owns the Pradesh Family, Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail, and I own nothing. Also - GoddessxNyte2 is my beta and she's the best.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

"Kaleb, I found something in Peregrande but it wasn't… what we were looking for, exactly," Van explained to his brothers in a rush after popping unceremoniously out of the voids into Kaleb's office in White Sea, Bosco.

Cristoff looked at his brother, confused, and then addressed Kaleb, "You sent Van into Peregrande chasing that celestial spirit mage, didn't you? Are you really having that much trouble finding her?" it sounded almost accusatory, but the amusement in Cris's eyes said differently.

Kaleb waved him off, ignoring the question, and focused on his youngest brother. Deciding to avoid Van's typical way of talking in suggestive circles, he just dove into his mind, and promptly paled.

"That's… not possible."

"I didn't think so either, but here we are. We've got to go get him," Vander confirmed, all hints of his normal joking aside.

"Wanna fill me in here, guys?" Cristoff piped in, confused.

Instead of responding, Kaleb tossed in Van's memories into this the loose mental link he shared with his whole family. Cris paled just as Kaleb had, "Is that really…?"

"Yes. Has to be."

It took less than a minute for Arman to chime in mentally, '_Kaleb, gather your mages. Farron and I are getting approval from the king, but even if we don't get it, we are going to be headed towards Peregrande within the hour.'_

'_We've already started. Cris and Emzadi, teleport to the others. I'll call Bix, everyone else be ready to move out in ten.'_

* * *

"You're sure about this?"

"Yes"

"Absolutely positive?"

"...Yes."

"Tink, you're going to get us fucking murdered. In the middle of the world's most disgusting country ever. They are going to hang our naked bodies up on a flagpole and host one giant circle-jerk to our corpses. The orgy to end all orgies."

Lucy giggled, but it sounded odd. Because it was coming from a veritable cockroach of a man. Seriously, it was _nasty. _"Your corpse, maybe, Cobs, but mine? Nah. They hate boobs here, remember?"

"Yes, I remember, Tinker-Tits. It's hard to forget with everyone's souls screaming out for my delicious looking man-flesh."

The odd, greasy, dark-haired man with horrible teeth standing next to the poison slayer giggled. Again.

"Have I mentioned how much I hate your Gemini stardress? Because I do. So much."

"Yeah. In fact, you keep mentioning it, but it was either that or be caught and sold for my wide, childbearing hips, so I think you'll just have to deal with it."

Erik sighed, "You know, you could have at least picked a less disgusting person to copy."

Shaking his/her head, she argued, "You're drawing enough attention as it is, Arse."

"Hey," he protested, "there's no need for name calling."

Lucy nearly dropped her transformation in her sudden loss of focus that accompanied her laughter, "It was a nickname… Short for Arsenic. Don't you like it?"

Erik punched him/her on the shoulder, albeit lightly, "You're dumbass jokes are even less appealing than your current appearance."

Lucy rolled her eyes, "That's not true, and we both know that."

Erik shrugged, noncommittal.

Several minutes passed as they kept walking, their steps taking them closer to the slaving part of town. Where the markets and unsavory people were, the center of the city, and where the infamous gladiatorial arena was.

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but it seems like we are heading for Sky's Reach. You know, that large, circular stadium-like structure full of powerful mages that may or may not be able to see right through your Jedi mind trick?"

"You don't appear to be wrong, no. Well, that last part is wrong. Gemini's transformation power is flawless. At most they will be able to sense my magic. But yeah, Sky's Reach, that's probably a thing."

Erik didn't feel any better after that statement, "Lucy. You have the most unique fucking magic in the world. If they somehow don't recognize the fact that you're one of very few celestial mages in the known universe, the sheer amount of power you have will make you a target for their twisted games. Ugly or not, they think you can put up a good fight in the colosseum, that's where you're going."

'_Loke, you know how we have been practicing on that thing where I make it seem like I have more magic than I do?'_

'_Uh, yeah?' _Loke responded internally, '_Why?'_

'_Can we do the opposite?'_

'_Probably, but not if you aren't calm and controlling it on your own. Your energy spikes and the rest of us won't be able to do anything about it. Otherwise, yeah, I'll get the other spirits started on pulling some of your residual power into their gates to dampen the appearance of your magic levels' _Loke confirmed.

Several of her spirits chimed in that they were already aware, because they were all in her head, so they began. The only one who couldn't help was Gemini, as it wasn't possible to pull her magic in and out of the gate at the same time, and she was using the gate for her stardress abilities.

Cobra looked at her a moment later, somewhat intrigued, "What's going on?"

"You had a point, Erik. My magic is a problem. My spirits are helping dampen my signature. Why, can you tell the difference?"

"Yes. Keep doing that. It actually feels like you're a normal mage, now, instead of… well… you."

"Hey! I'm normal!"

"Tink, you're so far from normal it's not even funny. Now shut up and move. If we're going to die today, I'm not doing it before we even see what the fuck for."

* * *

"I'm going in. I could have Gemini cloak you but I don't know what we're going to find in there and they take up more magic than the other Zodiacs. I think the smarter play here is to conserve as much energy as possible."

Erik's single violet eye seemed to inspect her, "I hate this more than you'll possibly understand, you know that?"

Lucy chuckled lightly, but she wasn't unaffected either. She's a lot stronger now than she had ever been, but that didn't mean she was confident enough to take on the entire fucking nation of Peregrande. Or at least the entire population of their capital city. The magic that was pulling her, though, made up her mind for her.

She didn't know what or who was causing it, but she was going to find out. It was something significant if it had called to her half a nation away. Her spirits seemed to agree with her, and despite that they were all on edge with her being in such a hostile territory, they were all just as determined to see it through as she was.

"I know, Cobs. I have to do this though. Will you trust me?"

He crossed his arms in frustration, but gave her a single nod, "If you die in there, I'm killing myself just so I can track you down in the afterlife and shank you. Understand?"

Lucy giggled, and Erik found himself extremely grateful that she'd dropped the ugly visage she'd been sporting once they'd found this mostly-private corner of the market. He wasn't sure he'd have been able to take one more of her giggles delivered through the uneven teeth of her copy subject.

"I'm leaving Virgo here with you. Sky's Reach has containment cells underground, if I'm caught and not killed on the spot, they will take me there. You and Virgo can stage a rescue, if necessary. Now that they are anchored to me," Lucy rubbed at the metallic marks along her forearms, "they will always be able to summon themselves to my side if they use their own power."

Erik gave her another nod, "Alright. Now copy this limp piece of flesh and get going," he said, kicking the knocked out guard at his feet.

She knelt down and placed a hand on the colosseum guard's shoulder, and was about to transform when she was pulled roughly into an uncomfortable hug by her maroon-haired kin, "And I'm serious about the dying thing. Be careful."

* * *

"What the fuck took so long, Jarod?"

Gemi-Jarod-Lucy responded, thankful that Gemini's copy ability was so thorough, "Oh shut it, Balrin. Last time you took a 'bathroom break' you came back sexually satisfied and limping."

Balrin, for his part, blushed, "It's not my fault if a man catches my attention…" he muttered, but didn't mention Gemi-Jarod-Lucy's extended absence any longer.

She played at keeping watch of the gate for a few minutes longer before glancing at Balrin, "Hey, you keep watch here for a bit. I have to check something out, I've got a weird feeling."

It was actually the truth. They had gotten very lucky that the guard they had managed to catch was known for his dedication to his 'intuition'. From what Lucy saw in his memories, it was more of a lecherous need to ogle gladiators fighting wearing little clothing, but still. It played in her favor.

Balrin rolled his eyes, "I know your tricks. You just want to see if today's handicap match will finally do in the Dark Eagle," he glared, but then sighed and waved him off, "Go. But hurry up. If it takes him longer than five minutes to die then you have to come back without missing the finale, got it?"

"Whatever."

With that, Gemi-Jarod-Lucy walked away (feeling a little ill) from the entrance and through a corridor that led to a balcony overlooking the battlefield. What she saw there had her stopped in her tracks.

All semblance of control she had over her magic went down the drain, and all around her she saw people dropping under the sudden pressure of her magic.

'_Princess… Princess... ' _that was Virgo, through the link. She found just enough willpower to listen in on her maid spirit, '_Master Erik asked me to inform you to "calm the fuck down", he says even he can feel your magic pressure and he fears you will soon be noticed.'_

'_I'll get back to you on that request Virgo, give me a second.'_

Lucy felt uncontrollable anger from each of her spirits, apart from Virgo, who had been focused on Erik and was not actively looking through Lucy's mind. She didn't know why, but she imagined it had something to do with the very exhausted looking mage in the area below, who sported beautiful black wings spattered with blood and elegant eagle tattoos across the left side of his torso. Clan tattoos, if she wasn't mistaken, from Bosco.

The bonds were forcing that anger into her as well, they just weren't all that great at separating themselves when it came to strong emotion. Not that she cared, because that blonde-and-red highlighted mahogany haired mage in the stadium below was clearly the source of magic she'd been connected to for months. And _someone _was going to pay for the state he was in.

They had officially made it right to the top of her shit list, right next to that Alec bastard (who, she had already decided, deserved to have his eye gouged out by her hand. As soon as she found the pompous piece of shit).

'_Loke, who is that?'_

'_An archangel mage, Princess. The… last…. Archangel mage, Zen Pradesh. Son of Ambassador Arman Pradesh of Bosco and his celestial mage wife, Ganier. He… he was supposed to have died, and taken the last of the line of archangel magic with him when he was blown up in Peregrande with his mother at the age of two. Lucy, the celestial realm mourned this man. Not even the Spirit King knew he lived. This… this _cannot _go unpunished.'_

The rage she felt intensified. Peregrande had held this man captive and used him for entertainment from the age of _two. _Loke was right. Someone was going to pay. A lot of someones.

People were starting to look at her, now. She'd long since lost the delicate transformation she was holding, and had unknowingly dropped the stardress altogether. If that wasn't enough to draw attention, she was putting off so much magic that she was actually _glowing, _the pressure from her own spiking magic causing her hair to stir and her clothes to wave about in her own personal wind.

'_Virgo'_

'_Princess, I understand the situation. What are your orders?'_

'_Take Erik, if he's willing, and free the slaves from the dungeons. I'm afraid this stadium won't be standing much longer.'_

'_Master Erik finds this agreeable, but has asked me to relay this: "Don't fucking die while I'm playing hero."' _

'_Tell him not to worry, I'm thinking dear old dad would like to hear about this. What do you think, Virgo? Dire circumstances?'_

Lucy could feel Virgo's excitement, '_I believe, Princess, that the King's punishment will be swift, and severe.'_

'_I think you're right, Virgo. And so will mine.'_


	32. Chapter 32

**Dear Readers,**

**I don't think you can possibly be as excited as I am about posting this chapter. Seriously. **

**Please, read, review, rave, rant, reveal your thoughts in the comments section... all of that. Tell me what you think. **

**Oh, and remember: Desna owns all the Boscan Characters (Pradesh Fam), Hiro Mashima owns all the rest, and I own the proud, twisted brain that used them in such a way. My beta, bless her, wades through all my bullshit rambling and delivers me to what you see below. All hail GoddessxNyte2 for her infinite patience.**

**ENJOY!**

* * *

Channeling magic through the platinum-metallic star mark on her chest, Lucy activated her least-used bond and reached through it, ignoring the massive source of power she felt from the other end in favor of speaking to the being attached to it.

'_Father?'_

'_Oh, Lucy! I am so glad you have addressed me as such, old friend-er, daughter of mine. To what do I owe this pleasant conversation?' _Lucy could tell he was distracted, he had informed her he was frequently busy, after all.

'_I am sorry, Stache Face, but this isn't going to be a pleasant conversation. Has Loke informed you that I have been following a pull on my magic?'_

'_Indeed he has, Daughter. You have discovered this magic source?' _he sounded far more interested now.

'_I'm currently looking at it. Why don't you see for yourself, and I'd like to know what constitutes as dire circumstances…'_

In the spirit realm, the King frowned. Lucy wasn't one quick to anger, at least not to an anger so intense, and so he did as she asked and looked through her eyes to see as she did.

When he finally saw what she was referring to, Lucy felt an anger more intense than even what she felt with all the Zodiacs combined.

'_This, Daughter, constitutes as dire circumstances. Summon me, and together our justice will be swift and merciless.'_

They both watched as Zen sliced the arm off of one of seven wyverns he had been pitted up against, but received a deep laceration to his calf from another. He must have been at it for hours, as the rest of the arena was littered with half a dozen corpses from fallen wyverns and various other enemies.

Lucy and the Spirit King took notice.

Their mutual anger made their magic rise so much that even the Wyverns below turned their attention from their prey to seek out the frightening source of magic power, several of them whimpering and backing away.

Zen's eyes locked with the celestial mage's single one, and she saw recognition on his face. Not for her appearance, but he clearly had felt the same pull of magic she had been sensing for months. She gave him a small smile that turned terrifying when she moved her gaze to the rest of Sky's Reach Stadium. Specifically, to the lavish section that held the Peregrandian Royals.

'_I am glad you feel that way, Stache Face. Now I can still call you to help me beat the shit out of Fallen Star later.'_

'_That really is a terrible name,' _the Spirit King commented.

* * *

Erik, over the last several months, had gotten a good grasp on what Lucy was capable of. She was terrifying, and she didn't even know it.

In the last month, she'd gotten good enough with her hand-to-hand fighting that she occasionally bested him, without the use of her magic. With the use of her magic? She could either sit there smirking while she nearly suffocated you with her magical presence, or she could summon a few of the most powerful beings he'd ever met to fight alongside her, or she could perform a few dozen earthland-shattering spells that would tear you to pieces without mercy.

What he was feeling from her now was beyond anything he'd witnessed before. Perhaps because she didn't give a fuck about being found, or maybe because she was pissed off enough that her usual delicate control on her magic ran straight out the fucking window, or some combination of all that - whatever it was, he almost felt sorry for the poor bastard who had incurred her wrath. _Almost._

She was still Lucy, after all, and if she was this ready to fuck shit up, whoever it was definitely deserved it.

He decided he'd let her have her fun. But also vowed to keep a close eye on Virgo, because if he saw one frown on the maid's face he was running head-first into Lucy's battle without a second thought.

As it was, though, he decided to do as she'd asked and evacuate the slaves. He'd been one of those before, and he knew the people trapped down in the cells didn't deserve to face Lucy's wrath. So he and Virgo got to work, even as he felt a massive surge of power from his livid kin.

* * *

The whole stadium had stopped to observe the small blonde woman who stood on the East balcony, assessing the battlefield with a calm sort of anger that displayed her complete lack of concern for being a woman in Peregrande. It made Karadin furious, as he watched several of his guards fall down trying to reach her.

That angered him more. Women were useless and weak and he wouldn't stand for her presence in his arena. She would die where she stood, and he would watch it happen with a smile on his face.

He sent his personal guard to deal with her, thinking they were likely of the few who could push past her clearly oppressive magic, and he watched with interest as they made their way through the stadium. Just as the first of the men came within reaching distance of her, the sky opened up and the entire stadium was filled with a light so intense he felt blinded even with his eyes closed.

* * *

Zen eyed the glowing golden blonde woman with a small sense of trepidation that was overwhelmed with a large sense of relief. He'd felt an odd pull on his magic for months, getting stronger each day, and locking his gaze onto her scarred but incredibly beautiful face he felt real hope for the first time in his life.

Her small smile was all the confirmation he needed to understand that she'd felt their magical connection just as he had. When that smile turned dangerous and she looked directly at King Karadin, he felt an odd sense of victory.

He just knew, today was the day the evil king died. And that, no matter what, after today he would no longer be a slave. Dead in a battle for his freedom, or actually free, either way he would be far from this hell he'd called a life for the last eighteen years.

The archangel mage watched as guard after guard approached the woman, only to fall short. He could understand that, her magic was intense, but he didn't feel its pressure. Rather, it appeared to be embracing him, protecting him.

An odd sensation for a life-long slave.

He saw her victorious, menacing smile and braced himself for whatever she was about to do.

* * *

Taking a deep breath, Lucy began her incantation, pulling her magic within herself so she could channel it through the mark over her heart.

"Ruler of the stars, by our covenant I call upon thee in the realm of celestial spirits," as she spoke, the daylight above seemed was seemingly pushed aside, as the heavenly bodies appeared above the colosseum.

"By thy soul-anchored gate, I summon thee," she continued, the magic around her intensifying once more.

Below her Zen's eyes widened as the woman he'd been watching literally glowed with intense magical power.

"Open, Gate of the Heavenly Sovereign, Celestial Spirit King!"

The mark on Lucy's chest grew warm as a massive amount of her magic was pulled from her and the heavens themselves opened to reveal Stache Face in all his glory, towering above the tallest seats in the stadium while standing directly in the center of it, unfortunate wyverns smashed unceremoniously underfoot.

And he looked _pissed. _

He reached large hands to either side of Lucy to pluck the Royal guards from the stands, and decided just to chuck them out of the arena. Fairies don't kill, but today? This was war, and all's fair in love and war.

Lucy was panting heavily. The King wasn't lying when he told her the cost of summoning him would be extreme, even maintaining his gate was a strain on her massive magical containers.

A few stupidly brave guards shot their strongest magical attacks at Lucy, deciding that if she was gone the large, intimidating spirit would be gone as well, only to be blocked by Lucy's own large sword. The one that accompanied her Celestial Spirit King stardress she'd donned just as Stache Face had plucked the guards from their places next to her.

The Celestial Spirit King didn't take kindly to her being targeted, and quickly disposed of the troublesome mages with the wave of a hand. Lucy was sure that the sound of their bodies breaking would someday haunt her, but not today. Today, they deserved every bit of their righteous anger.

"Father," Lucy called to the King, still finding it odd to address him as such, but finding his excitement when she did so to be extremely amusing, "I… feel I can handle this in here. And I'm pretty sure the entire Peregrandian army is on the way… Can you take Zen and-"

She was cut off by a deep voice, "I don't know who you are, but there's no way I'm leaving this stadium without the chance to fight by your side," Zen called to her from his spot by Stache Face's large foot.

The spirit grinned, "I believe that is my cue," he said, following the instruction Lucy gave him, "I will ensure no armies get past me, and leave the… clean-up… to you, daughter," he informed her, before jumping over the walls of the arena to face the incoming enemies.

Zen flexed his massive wings and flew up to meet Lucy on balcony, landing gracefully in front of the woman while studying her closely.

She had hair the exact color of sunlight piled in elegant curls on her head that fell to frame her heart-shaped face, marred only by a scar that split her eyebrow and travelled through her closed eye to split her upper lip slightly. Somehow though, it only made her more intimidating and did nothing at all to retract from her beauty.

She was lean, well endowed but well proportioned, and he could see the tone in her muscles that spoke to harsh, rigorous training. She wore a suit of armor that he would have assumed was next to useless - considering it left bare her vulnerable midriff - were it not for the power it radiated. It was golden, held no sleeves but she wore detached bracers on her forearms that left the underside bare so he could see metallic markings on them, with a gladiator-style skirt armor and leg pieces that stretched from her boots all the way to above her knee.

She was glorious, like some kind of warrior goddess, and Zen took one precious moment to place a warm hand on her shoulder, a show of camaraderie and gratitude, "You came."

Her features - before seeming so full of indignant fury that even Zen pitied whoever found themselves at the end of her large, star-studded blade - softened and she moved her hand to cover his own with the lightest of touches, "I heard you. I had to come."

Neither really understood why it happened, it hadn't been a conscious decision for their magic to connect, but here they found themselves. They didn't know each other but they stood side-by-side to take on the whole of Peregrande, feeling as though they had always worked together.

"Right. Well. I'll go left, you go right, and we will meet on the other side, yeah?"

Zen smirked, "Sounds like a plan."

He turned to move in the direction she indicated, but a soft hand on his shoulder stopped him. He was surprised that his wings hadn't cleaved her in two - as they had every other who dared touch him - but found he didn't hate the contact as she stopped him with a softly spoken, "Hold on."

He turned to face her and she raised that gigantic sword that seemed to embody the night itself, and swung it in his direction with an ease she shouldn't have had with a weapon that large. He didn't flinch. His trust in her was profound, and he honestly had no idea why, but he was grateful as her blade easily sliced through and removed each of his five magic-cancelling limiters.

Both Lucy and Zen took deep refreshing breaths as his magic released around him, Zen in relief for finally having free access to his magic, and Lucy because just as hers had done to him, Zen's magic embraced her, spreading warmth through her body.

"Right. Now, go on," she advised, giving him a bright smile as she turned and ran with a battle cry toward her own enemies. He saw as she came in contact with the first of a long line of guards in her way, and easily picked each opponent apart, picking up barely minor scratches as she did so.

It was impressive, but he finally had his magic, so he decided he would not be outdone. He turned to face his own enemies, sword raised.

Lucy pressed onwards, slicing into some enemies, crushing others underfoot, even knocking a few unceremoniously over the edge of the balcony. Minor injuries she sustained, like the cut on her cheek, went unnoticed as she broke through the enemy line with a single-minded focus. She saw her target, the blasted king of this stars-forsaken country from the corner of her vision, and she was going to get to him if she had to fight Mard Geer Tartaros himself to do it.

Seeing the older, pudgy and frankly disgusting man start to flee, she silently called for Libra.

'_He must face my judgement, keep him there, please.' _Lucy instructed, slicing the man in front of her nearly in two, ignoring the way the blood caked to her skin as she targeted the next soldier.

'_I will see to it he does not escape the Starbringer's Judgement today, Princess,' _Libra confirmed mentally.

Lucy felt the pull of her magic as she opened the Gate of Heavenly Scales, but ignored the strain she felt as she punched another guard into a wall. The sickening feeling of his facial bones cracking under her well-trained fist would normally disgust her. Now she felt only satisfaction. These people were slavers, rapists, men who kept other men locked away for their own pleasure or to watch them die, or both. They did not deserve even her pity. Her compassion, normally her greatest trait, seemed to have disappeared as she watched Zen fight for his life, and in this moment she couldn't bring herself to care.

She was getting closer to the King Karadin, she saw him collapse into a heap under Libra's gravity and the satisfaction she felt from the spirit through her bond only pushed her harder.

'_Princess,_' Virgo called in her mind. Lucy lost focus for a short moment and took a sword slice deep on her bicep. Ignoring it, she responded to her spirit.

'_Yes, Virgo?'_

'_We have completed our task. You and the King are free to commence destroying what you wish, the slaves have been escorted to the edge of the city. Punishment?'_

'_Not now, but thank you. Please return, tell Erik to make his way to the giant spirit standing over Peregrande's capital.'_

Lucy felt a confirmation from her spirit before releasing a relieved breath when she returned to the spirit world. The strain on her magic lessened ever so slightly.

Lucy took a 'wind slicer' spell to her thigh, and gasped at the pain. The cut was deep, she knew, but she'd had much worse, so she fought on with little regard to it, just as she had her minor injuries. The mage that had sent the spell found himself swiftly defeated, a rainbow of bright light blasting him through a few walls as Lucy used the King's sword magic to attack, for the first time exploring more of this stardress than its physical capabilities.

A single mage stood between her and the King of Peregrande, and she found herself laughing at the sad attempt at flames they had sent her way. Natsu's flames were much hotter.

She never thought she'd see the day where she was glad the dragon slayer had no sense of where his teammates were in battle. She sent a brief, heartfelt wish out that he was doing okay without her.

She shoved her night sky sword into the man's chest and watched the light fade from his eyes, shoving him off her off the end of it as he collapsed in a heap at her feet.

Slow, deliberate steps brought her face to face with Karadin himself.

"King Karadin of Peregrande, are you prepared to face your judgement?" Lucy asked him in a commanding tone. She wouldn't find this out until later, but this was her first official act as the Starbringer - bringing judgement and justice upon enemies of the celestial realm.

Libra fed her words through their bond, leading her through the lines she had to speak to pass official celestial judgement on the puny sovereign.

"I, Princess of the Celestial Heavens and First Celestial Starbringer, bring forth charges against you from the celestial realm and those under its protection and guidance. You stand accused of the kidnapping, torture, attempted murder, and attempted rape of the Celestial Realm's Last Evening Star Archangel Mage, the murder of a celestial spirit summoner of the highest order, and attempted murder of the Starbringer. What say you to the charges laid upon you?

The king spat at her feet, "You're nothing more than a whore for breeding, I will not bow to you. Take me prisoner if you want, but you will not escape the wrath of my nation."

Lucy's power spiked and her eye flashed gold, "Libra, your determination?"

"The scales have revealed the truth of his guilt, Starbringer."

"The sentence?"

"That is for you to decide, my Princess. If you seek council, the will of your contracted spirits call for death."

Lucy stepped forward, a gleam in her eye. In any normal circumstance, the celestial mage was compassionate, merciful, and kind. Someone who would pale at the thought of bringing real harm to even her enemies. Her reputation for sparing and befriending her enemies was well known throughout Ishgar.

She was discovering she was not quite the same person anymore. At least, not today, "Last words?"

Karadin paled, "You wouldn't! I'm a _King!_"

"You are no king of mine, Karadin. Look around you, do you think your _great_ nation could bring me to my knees?"

The king, who was on his knees now himself, did as she said. Looking around, the fear in his eyes only intensified. His beloved colosseum was in ruins. He heard the cries of countless of his warriors outside the arena, and felt the power of the spirit standing just outside the walls, crushing them mercilessly. Heard how they went silent momentarily while a large purple cloud of mist appeared just over the edge of the arena he could see. He saw the countless bloodied corpses of his personal guard littering the balcony, and the way his long-time prized Gladiator impaled the last guard on his left before walking toward him menacingly, all magic restraints long gone.

He shook violently with fear, "Wait, wait, I can give you money. Power. Or the Dark Eagle! You can have him, take him away and we won't chase after you! Whatever you want, just please, don't-"

"Are you sure that you want your last words to be a plea for your pathetic life?"

"Please, spare-"

She never heard him cry out his last, desperate plea to save his sad existence, because her sword met and sliced through his neck before he could utter another word. He deserved a slow and painful, torturous death, but that was not for her to give him. This was justice, nothing more, and the Celestial Realm claimed his life. It was her duty to take it from him.

Zen looked on the scene with less than no pity for the evil man that had ruined the better part of his life. He put a hand on the blood-soaked skin of his savior, "I believe it is time for us to leave. I'm Zen, by the way, and thank you for coming to my aid."

She turned to him quickly, and the eye that had been so full of fury before was now simply tired, the gold within it slowly dissipating. She nodded.

As the last cries of the Peregrandian soldiers reached their ears and died out, she responded, "I'm Lucy, it's nice to finally meet you…"

She trailed off as her small smile fell from her face and her magical exhaustion finally kicked in. At the edge of his vision, Zen saw the gigantic sovereign spirit dematerialize with a proud glance in their direction into a shower of golden magic. The spirit next to them did the same, and as both returned to the celestial realm, Lucy fell to unconsciousness.

Zen caught her before she could hit the ground.

* * *

Erik was proud of his kin.

He'd seen her summon that massive spirit guy from his spot exiting the stadium with the slaves in tow, and had immediately decided he'd made the right decision in getting the fuck out of there. She wasn't pulling punches.

He'd seen that same spirit taking on and destroying an entire army when he'd come back from escorting the same slaves to the edge of the city, and immediately jumped in on the action, giving a wave to the spirit guy so he wouldn't get crushed underfoot as he released his most effective poison in a massive roar.

"Kin of my daughter," the Spirit King spoke to him, as the last few members of the Peregrandian army started running for their lives, "She will soon be too exhausted to move. I suggest you go and join her and her new ally."

"...she used too much magic, didn't she?" Erik asked in annoyance.

Laughing, the spirit king nodded, "Likely yes, my new daughter has a habit of doing so. You will need to escort both of them out of this pathetic nation. I warn you," he gave the slayer a stern look, "both mages in the stadium are incredibly important to the celestial realm. Should either fall, know that I will hold you personally responsible."

"Yeah, what the fuck ever," Erik rolled his eyes, taking off in a run toward the colloseum entrance, "You just finish your job Star Daddy, and I'll deal with mine."

Erik ran directly to the balcony to find his kin, only to find… A bloody fucking massacre. The civilians seemed to have all made it out, but lining the entire balcony were the bodies of broken security guards.

_'What the fuck…Tink did all this?'_

He picked his way through the bodies, following the sound of her overcrowded soul, and caught sight of her standing in her Spirit King stardress (that he refused to spar against) covered in blood and holding onto the bloodsoaked sword she'd stabbed into the ground for support.

The poison Slayer heard her introduce herself before her stardress disappeared, as well as her two spirits, as she collapsed from exhaustion.

Her companion, Zen, as he'd heard him introduce himself just before, caught her limp form before she fell all the way to the ground. The man looked panicked but Erik ran up to them quickly to reassure him.

"Bright Eye is just an idiot sometimes, nothing to really worry about. She's just used too much magic."

Zen looked at him suspiciously, but seemed to find something in him that put him a little more at ease, "You know her?"

"Tink is my kin, so yeah, I know her dumbass self," he leaned down to scoop the celestial mage up, but Zen pulled her back.

"I've got her."

Erik scowled, but allowed it. Whatever was going on, he couldn't sense anything in the guy's soul other than a desire to protect her.

"Fine, but she's not gonna even be awake for the next few days, and we're gonna have to leave this piece of shit country around now-ish."

Zen pulled her fully into his arms and stood, "Okay. After you."

* * *

"Kaleb, am I dreaming or… did someone beat us here?" Cristoff posed the question to his brother.

The guildmaster frowned, "Something happened, but all the minds I'm in are just a mess of panic, hard to get a clear picture."

Arman gripped the railing tightly, seeing that Sky's Reach Colosseum, the exact place they were headed to rescue his second eldest son, was heavily damaged. Barely standing, "Zen. Is he okay?"

"I can't tell. VAN! EMZADI!" He called out to his siblings, who approached quickly.

"You two and Cris. Go down and investigate. And hurry. Don't forget, if you run into the king, _don't _kill him. He's the one person we aren't sanctioned to take out today."

All three mages took off with a nod, using their various forms of teleportation, while the other Pradesh family members and several members of White Sea waited anxiously.

"Kaleb, I know this isn't the best time…"

"What is it, Presca?"

The energy mage sighed, "You remember that mage you had me trying to track down a few months back, before my injury?"

Kaleb looked at him curiously, "I do."

"Her magic. It's all over the place here, stronger than I've ever felt it before. For whatever reason, it seems she gave up hiding it."

Kaleb didn't have time to respond to that, because Vander spoke up through the family link.

_'So, I found big bro, I'm bringing him aboard, but he's not alone.'_

Kaleb sorted through his brother's mind, "You're kidding me, Lucy Heartfilia?"

Bix spoke up from several feet behind him, "Wait, what? Are you serious?!"

_'Oh, that's not all. You remember that little restriction we had?'_

_'You mean about Karadin?' _Arman spoke up mentallly.

"Yup, that one," Vander said, stepping out of the void with a grip on Erik and Zen, who was still holding Lucy, "We were a bit late on all fronts, it seems. Celestial Girl here decided to show you up again, Kaleb. She saved Zen before you could and decapitated King Karadin as the proverbial cherry on top," he said cheerfully.

"What the fuck… Cosplayer?!"


	33. Chapter 33

**Dear Readers,**

**I am so excited about the response from the last chapter. I seriously love all of you.**

**Because you're all so awesome... I've got another one for you. **

**Reminder - Desna owns the Pradesh Family, Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail. **

**Thanks to GoddessxNyte2 for her beta-reading and for keeping my soul on the lighter side of dark and twisty. :)**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

"Zen…" Arman spoke quietly, stepping forward toward his long lost son, but not touching him. He knew what a lifetime of slavery could do to a person, as an ambassador he's seen it several times, and the last thing he wanted to do was make his child uncomfortable.

"I… remember you… Dad?"

Arman nodded, tears in his eyes. Zen's suspicious gaze softened slightly, and his tight grip on Lucy relaxed slightly. He turned his eyes to his brother.

"...Fare?"

Farron stepped up toward his brother as well, placing a cautious hand on the man's shoulder as he nodded, "Welcome home, Zen."

"We thought you died…. I'm so sorry, Zen, I thought you were gone. I had no idea they had you, I… failed you. I'm sorry-"

"Stop that. Don't blame yourself for the actions of my captors." Zen's glare was stern but not hostile, "You came for me. That's all that matters, now. The past is done."

Arman's tears only increased and he reached out to touch his son's face that was so like his own, "I'm so glad you're alive…"

"This is fucking great and all, really, I love the rainbow unicorn happy reunion shit, but Lucy could use some help."

Cris and Emzadi had both made it back to the airship a few seconds before, and Cris walked over to the girl in question. Bickslow was staring at her in confusion, sadness etched on his face and his figure eyes activated, mumbling something about how it didn't make sense.

Cristoff reached out to take the girl from Zen's arms, but found himself looking at a raven-black wing instead. Zen had shifted away and was holding her closer to his bare torso, and his right wing was blocking Cris's view, but he was being defensive, not hostile, and his wings hadn't made a move to attack anyone.

"Easy there, bro, I'm a healer. Saw a couple nasty cuts and she's bound to be magically exhausted, I can help her." Cristoff soothed, his magic reaching out tentatively to calm his adoptive brother.

Zen felt the magic, but it didn't seem harmful, almost like Lucy's - protective - so he didn't fight it and his wings slowly retracted. He gave him a hard look. "Who are you?"

"Actually," Arman spoke up, gesturing around the room, "Most of the people around you are your siblings. I promised your mother we would have a large family, and when we lost both of you… I just couldn't bear to break that promise, so I adopted six others over the years. The healer in front of you is Cristoff, but before we introduce ourselves we really should let him take a look at the young lady."

"...you'll take care of her?"

Zen's magic filled the space, but lightly. He didn't want to overwhelm his newly-found family, but he knew his magic kept people from lying to him when he had the rare opportunity to actually use it - only those times when his magic had grown enough that he was ready for a new piece of magic cancelling jewelry.

"I will. She won't be harmed, I promise." Zen felt the truth of that in his magic, and so reluctantly nodded.

He took a small step forward and lowered the golden-haired woman into Cris's waiting arms delicately. Accepting her slight weight, he walked off in the direction of the infirmary, calling over his shoulder that he where he was taking her and directions to get there to put Zen at ease.

Nodding to a still-confused looking Bickslow, Erik followed.

Kaleb was frowning, listening in on his seith mage brother. Lucy Heartfilia's soul was pure, as pure or purer than it was the last time the man had seen it, but now it held connections and colors that weren't there before. Bickslow had never seen anything like it.

Neither Kaleb or Bix knew what to make of it, and Kaleb resolved to look in her mind at the earliest opportunity. Now though, his recently recovered brother deserved his full attention.

Kaleb quickly ordered his mages on the two airships they'd brought to retreat back to Bosco, and once they were on the move, the Pradesh family gathered together and got comfortable.

Zen sat on a plush chair backed against the wall, Arman in the chair next to him. Emzadi, Vander, and Xally sat on the floor around them and Farron, Bickslow, and Kaleb all stood within the same circle.

"So…" Vander started, "I'm the fun brother. Vander. Nice to meet you officially, big bro." he said with a lazy smile, falling back to prop himself on one hand.

Arman added, "He's the youngest, aside from Xally, and whatever you do, don't listen to him. He never means well, and he has a knack for getting into trouble, but… most of the time he is a decent human being."

Eyerolls were seen from every other sibling, but Zen only nodded, "Thank you for getting us out of Sky's Reach. It would have been an uncomfortable few days trying to walk out on our own power."

"Shit, anytime. Though, next time, leave me some baddies to kill. I was so excited, but there was literally nothing for me to do once we got there!" he whined.

Zen smirked, "Oh, that wasn't me. But, for the future, I'll keep that in mind and try to reign Lucy in."

Bickslow blinked in surprise. "Lucy… did that? The whole collapsed stadium thing?"

Zen tilted his head at the blue/black haired man, "Yes…? Why? I was under the impression that you hadn't been working together to come get me. Do you know her?"

Arman spoke up, "Ah, that's a bit complicated. This is Bickslow, by the way, he is a Seith Mage and he has been in a guild in Fiore for the last several years. He is older than Vander, but not by much, but he was adopted about a year before Van was."

"Nice to meet you," Zen said, "But what's complicated about it? Is there something wrong with Lucy?"

Kaleb spoke up then, "So far as we can tell there is nothing wrong with her, other than that she needs healing. Cris says he will be out in a moment, by the way, her wounds are healed and now she just needs rest," frowning, he continued, "but, Lucy _is _wanted in several countries in Ishgar for working with a dark guild, and for stealing the golden celestial keys from another spirit mage: Libra, Pisces, and Ophiuchus - along with silver keys Deneb and Polaris. And she was once a part of Bickslow's guild in Fiore. That is all we know about the situation for now."

Zen's eyebrows furrowed, "That… doesn't make sense. Though I did see Libra during the battle, so I know she is in possession of that key."

The archangel seemed conflicted, on the one hand, she saved his life. But now he was hearing she was some kind of criminal on the run from multiple countries?

"There's nothing we can do about it until the young woman wakes up and we can question her, or until Kaleb can get a look into her mind," Arman chimed in, placing a hand on Zen's shoulder, "I am sure there is something we're missing, but let's not dwell on it for now. You are both safe, that's what is important."

Zen nodded.

"I'm sorry for bringing it up, Zen. Of course it is a subject for another time. I am Kaleb, the third oldest, behind Farron and yourself, and I am a mindbender mage."

In his mind, Kaleb continued speaking with his brother, '_And I am incredibly glad to welcome you home.'_

Zen cracked a small smile and nodded.

"I'm your sister, Emzadi, and I am older than Vander and Xally, younger than everyone else. The solar dragon slayer. Nice to have you home, Zen." She smiled, displaying a fang.

"Xally," a black-haired young woman spoke up from next to Vander, "I'm the youngest. I use water magic, sometimes for minor healing, and I'm in school to be a pediatrician," she spoke up brightly, standing to approach.

Zen didn't move, but observed her cautiously as she approached and moved her hands a few inches from his skin. He felt a soothing sensation on his various minor scrapes, and along the slash on his calf from the Wyvern hours ago.

After a few minutes she backed away, "I'm not as thorough as Cris, but you should feel completely healed by the time we get home!"

Zen smiled at her, "Thank you, Xally."

She hummed in response and kicked Vander - who had moved to lay in her spot - as she went to sit back down.

Cristoff came walking back in moments later, Erik in tow, and walked right up to Zen to pull him up and gave him a light hug. Zen, shocked, did not return it, but did not fight him on it either.

"It's really good to have you back, bro. We are all excited to have you. And don't worry, Lucy will be fine. She should be up and about tomorrow after she gets a good night's rest."

Cris didn't let go after he was done talking, seeing this the rest of the family decided to join in. Only Kaleb's constant yelling through the family link kept them all from tackling the archangel to the ground.

Zen was overwhelmed, and while he felt uncomfortable, he couldn't help but smile at the affection he could sense from his family.

He knew he had a long way to go before all of this felt normal, but he found himself thinking about how good it was to be home.


	34. Chapter 34

**Dear Readers,**

**I felt rude with how short 33 was, so... here you go :)**

**I don't own Fairy Tail (Mashima) or Pradesh Characters (Desna). GoddessxNyte2 is my wonderful beta.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

When Lucy opened her eyes, she was confused. She remembered everything that happened in Peregrande, but not how she got out of that country - if she really was out of it - nor how long she'd been asleep. She hoped, after everything that happened, she was able to get Zen out of that awful fucking place, but she wasn't sure.

What was even stranger was that, despite that she had just literally gotten out of the biggest battle of her life - with an entire nation, no less - she felt great. A little tired, but otherwise wonderful. She'd not experienced life without at least a training bruise or cut or two (or several) in over a year, and it had her a little worried that she'd been out of it for far longer than she had initially guessed.

Yawning, Lucy went to stretch her arms over her head, only to find that she was unable to. Something made a clinking noise on her right wrist, and she narrowed her eyes at the offending magic suppression cuff that she spotted keeping her wrist chained to the post of what appeared to be an infirmary bed.

That was when she noticed that she had surprisingly sharp eyesight, like she hadn't experienced in quite a while.

She gasped. Lucy had actually been narrowing _both of her eyes_, and she just now realized it.

'_Loke…? Want to explain what the fuck is going on?'_

"That won't work, that handcuff is magic suppressing, Ms. Heartfilia, and you have two other limiters on your ankles," a deep, suspicious voice spoke aloud.

Loke summoned himself half a second later and squared himself to the man that was just out of Lucy's sight, "I wouldn't underestimate the Princess, Boscan."

"Loke, chill the fuck out, man. We just need answers," a second man spoke.

Lucy gasped, was that…

"Bickslow..." it came out as a whisper.

A tired-looking seith mage came into view, stepping past a still-tense Loke to mess with some settings on the high-tech infirmary bed Lucy was laying in. A few moments later, Lucy was sitting up (thanks to the bed being adjustable) and staring at her guildmate, studying his features.

He wouldn't meet her eyes.

"Loke," Lucy said, without looking away from her friend, "I will be fine here. Tell everyone I'm alright, will you? I don't have the available power to maintain most of the bonds right now."

Loke put hand through his hair, "...you sure about this, Lucy?"

"Yeah, I'm good. Thank you," she confirmed.

Several minutes of silence later, and Lucy couldn't take it anymore, "Is… is Zen safe? How did you find me? Where's Erik? And can you tell me how the fuck I randomly have the use of both of my eyes?"

Bickslow, for the first time since Lucy woke, looked at the friend he'd been missing for more than a year. He chuckled softly, "Which question would you like me to answer first, Cosplayer?" he asked weakly, but with a small smile.

Without hesitation, she asked about Zen.

"He is fine. Resting. He was here for a while but we convinced him to go sleep."

The person who answered hadn't been Bickslow, but she _did _recognize the man she saw stepping to the foot of her bed. He was the one who'd first spoken, and having now seen him, she knew who he was.

After all, everyone who had ever seen a Boscan Edition Sorcerer Weekly would recognize the platinum hair and lean-but-built form of Kaleb Pradesh, Fifth Wizard Saint of Bosco and White Sea's guildmaster.

"Kaleb Pradesh. Seems it took me engaging with an entire nation to finally catch your attention, huh?"

Kaleb's typically calm demeanor fell to an annoyed expression, "I could have found you at any time," he clarified.

Lucy raised an eyebrow, "Why didn't you?"

"My energy mage was bus- it doesn't matter. You're here now and I have questions."

The celestial mage almost giggled, but held herself back, "Right, right," she took in a deep breath and looked at Bickslow, who had gone back to averting his gaze, "I… can't tell you everything but-"

"Lucy, you say one more word about not being able to be honest with your fucking family, and I swear to the fucking stars you summon I will march you directly to Fiore myself and toss you to the Rune Knights."

The blonde just blinked at Bix's outburst, but when she saw the tears lining his exhausted red eyes she simply let her head fall to her chest, "I… I'm sorry, Bix. I thought I didn't have a choice, but… maybe I was wrong."

"Yeah, you're damn right you were wrong. You have any idea how hard things have been at Fairy Tail since you left?"

"...I... no, I don't." She said, hiding her face in the knees she pulled to her chest. And she really didn't. She'd asked Laxus not to tell her about anyone, it was too painful. She'd not considered how painful it was for them.

"Cosplayer, we were devastated. All of us. And confused, and we'd just nearly lost half the fucking guild to an attack, and nobody understood what the hell was going on, and all of a sudden you were just fucking gone. The day you left, so did I. So did Gray. And Natsu and Happy, Erza and Jellal. They've _finally _started to get their shit together but it took _so _long. And I still see the damage in their souls. Freed refuses to research anything to do with the stars. At all. He says thinking about it is too painful. Evergreen won't even speak to the other girls. Cana was a fucking alcoholic mess until Gildarts came back to the guild one day and forced her to get her shit together. Fucking Romeo, that little kid that considered himself your little bro? He's gotten himself enough training scars to put your whole year after Tartaros to shame. Goddamn it, what the hell were you thinking?"

"I-"

"I've spent the last year hiding out in another fucking country because it was too goddamn depressing to be at Fairy Tail, and-"

"I was trying to _protect you!" _Lucy yelled, cutting him off, "I'm so sorry that everything happened the way it did, Bix. I really am. But I… I couldn't live with myself… If I let something happen… to all of you, because… b-because of me…"

For the first time since her last day at Fairy Tail, Lucy cried. Loud, unstifled, choking sobs as she tried to hold herself together by physically holding herself.

Bickslow and Kaleb both sat stunned. Kaleb had caught snippets of thought centered around the celestial mage leaving the guild and some form of guilt, but whatever bonds she had with her spirits were making her thoughts difficult to follow.

By now, Kaleb knew only that there was more to the story than either of them knew.

Before either could respond, an angry Zen walked into the room with a mildly confused Cristoff.

"So, uhh… bad time?" Cris asked, observing the crying celestial mage on the bed.

She didn't even look up.

"I think you two should go," Zen addressed Kaleb and Bickslow as he crossed the room to gently touch Lucy's shoulder. She only cried harder.

When neither brother made any attempt to move, Zen physically scooted the blonde over on the bed and climbed in next to her, draping an arm over her shoulders and pulling her face to his chest, "Lucy," he spoke softly.

"Z-Zen…? You're okay? I thought you were sleeping," she spoke to him, looking up at him through her tears.

"I don't sleep for long, old habits. Listen, will you agree to tell them everything once you calm down?" he asked her, dipping his head toward the guildmaster and her guildmate.

Taking a deep breath, she nodded, refusing to look at the two he was referring to, "I… just… need a minute."

Zen turned a glare toward his brothers, "There you go. She will explain everything later, probably best if she explains to the whole family, so set that up and I'll make sure she gets there."

Kaleb nodded reluctantly, but Bickslow approached the bed, tapping her shoulder. Zen eyed him warily but didn't do anything to stop him.

"Cosplayer…"

She turned to look at him, tears falling freely, "Y-yeah?"

He enveloped her in one of those hugs she remembered so fondly from before, "I don't know what happened, or why, but we're family always, right?"

She sobbed into his shoulder, but nodded, "Yeah, Bix. See?"

She pulled back and lifted the edge of her undamaged purple shirt (one of the perks of stardress? Less money spent on her ruined wardrobe) to reveal her dark purple Guildmark.

Bickslow gave her a sloppy grin (tongue and everything), "I knew ya weren't gone for good, Cosplayer. Get some rest, because I expect the full story this afternoon, hear me?"

Taking a deep, shuddering breath to calm herself, she mumbled an affirmative.

Erik walked in a second later and glared at Zen, "The fuck you doing in bed with Bright Eyes, Angel Boy? And why the hell is she handcuffed to the bed?"

Lucy and Zen both blushed, while Kaleb moved to remove the restraints now that he was sure she'd stick around to reveal what the hell was going on.


	35. Chapter 35

**Dear Readers,**

**I'm just gonna leave this here... with a reminder: Desna owns the Pradesh Family, Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail, and GoddessxNyte2 is the reason Lucy has all her limbs (probably) because she's a great beta.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

By the time everyone had gathered to listen to Lucy's story, they were back on Boscan soil. Instead of sitting in an uncomfortable circle on the airship, they'd decided to meet back at the Pradesh estate in Palerno, where everyone was going to be anyway, as they had all taken time off to spend time with Zen.

So here they were, 15 hours after the confrontation in the infirmary, and they were all sitting uncomfortably around a large dining table. Bickslow and Erik had taken either side of Lucy's chair, Zen next to Erik and Kaleb, and Arman at the opposite side with both girls at their sides. Vander, Cristoff, and Farron were seated in the chairs next to Bickslow.

"So," Kaleb began. Lucy couldn't help but think on how she should have expected him to be the most eager to spill her dirty secrets all over the table.

He shot her a look, and she averted her gaze and immediately started a few conversations with her bonded spirits to hide behind their illogical thought processes.

The platinum blonde narrowed his eyes at her, but continued speaking anyway, "How about we start at the beginning and figure out how much of what we know is actually true?"

Lucy nodded, "Yeah, okay. But before that," she fidgeted a little in her seat, "Can you promise that everything we talk about stays in this room?"

Half the table started protesting, but she waved them off, "Hear me out! If after you know everything, we decide together that we need to tell other people, than whatever the group decides I will honor. I promise. But please, just… promise you'll hear everything before you decide. I've spent the last year of my life hiding all of this, I just… Please, promise me."

Kaleb was, surprisingly, the first to speak, "Alright, I promise."

Erik nodded, "I've kept the secrets I know to myself for this long, I'm with you Bright Eyes."

The others all murmured in agreement after that, the last of which was Bickslow, who did so with great hesitance.

Lucy sighed in relief, "Okay, so what do you want to know?"

"What do you know of the Dark Guild that attacked Fairy Tail a year ago. Were you ever a spy for them?"

Lucy shook her head, "Honestly, I don't know much. I… was never a spy for them. They go by the name _Fallen Star,_" she scoffed and crossed her arms over her chest, "I've been trying to track them down, along with Crime Sorciere, for the last year and we haven't had much luck. We also have no idea what they want. From what they revealed while… Uh, politely trying to convince me to cooperate…," Kaleb winced at a few of the memories strong enough to slip through her spirits jabbering, "They want two things. Me - something to do with my mother, but I've not been able to find a connection - and the Zodiac Keys."

Arman piped in, "Your mother was Layla Heartfilia?"

Lucy raised an eyebrow, "Um, yeah. Did you know her?"

He nodded sadly, "She and Ganier, my late wife, were close when they attended the Academe. It carried over into adulthood, up until she married she spent summers here. Even met Zen and Farron a few times. I was… very sorry to hear of her death."

It was Lucy's turn to wince, "Ah, well, thank you."

Farron leaned forward in his seat, "Do you know _why_ they want you and the Zodiacs? Did they give any indication of what the purpose was?"

The celestial mage shook her head, "No. And if my spirits or the King know anything, they can't tell me."

"Why not?" Zen asked her with a confused expression.

Lucy was going to answer, but Arman did so faster, "Celestial Spirits are bound by many things. Rules, promises, some even say they are unable to interfere with the fates - though no one has been able to confirm the fates truly exist at all, that part is more of a myth. Either way, it could be any number of those things that prevents them revealing information, even to Lucy, their current contractor."

Lucy nodded, "Exactly, though you're wrong on one point. The fates do exist, they're not a myth. Not sure what their real role is, Stache Face won't tell me. I doubt they actually control the destiny of every individual, it's more likely they control some sort of celestial power, or they predict the outcome of certain events. Many believed you could tell the future if you could read the stars well enough, some still do. My most promising theory is that the three fates are in charge of divination and advising on the far future, but again, Father won't confirm."

Arman, Kaleb, and Cristoff blinked at her.

"Actually, Bix," she turned her attention to the seith mage, "You remember that pass phrase I gave you when I sent you to get the guild kids from Porlyusica's place?"

"Cosplayer, that was a year ago. Of course I don't."

She rolled her eyes, "Right. Well anyway, it was a real phrase. I read it in some of the family journals, though it's not necessarily an incantation and I've never had the opportunity to research it, but I guess it could mean something:

"Forever Guardians of the Benevolent Gate, Stand Zodiac Twelve and the Hands of Fate."

Everyone just stared at her silent, except for Erik, who was tracing random patterns on the table, bored.

"What?" Lucy asked them.

"There were a lot of things in that explanation I have questions on, honestly. Mostly, did you just refer to the Celestial Spirit King as 'Stache Face?' and then as 'Father' moments later?" Cristoff asked with a small smile on his face.

"Well, have you ever _seen _the Spirit King?"

"...can't say I have, no. But that goes for literally everyone currently living, apart from you three," he said, gesturing at Zen, Lucy, and Erik, the latter of which scoffed.

"All of Peregrande has seen him. Something tells me they won't soon forget it either," he mumbled, resting his head on his hand, propped up on the table.

Lucy chuckled, the first genuine laugh she'd had since meeting up with Zen, "Well, he has an incredibly large Mustache. Seriously, it's impossible to miss. When I first met him, that's what I called him - it was mostly an accident, I was just so shocked by his appearance that it was all I could focus on - and it just kind of stuck."

A couple light laughs were heard from several of the Pradesh siblings.

"What about calling him father," Emzadi piped in, curious.

Lucy rubbed the back of her neck before she realized what she was doing, then snapped her hand back to her lap - though Erik and Bickslow had already laughed at her impression of one Natsu Dragneel, "Well," she ignored them, "That's kind of recent. Stache Face adopted me after I ran away from Fairy Tail, don't ask me why because I have no idea."

"That's not fair," Vander pouted from his seat, "Fathers never like me. And that one is scary as hell… Well, now I think about it," he smirked. "I _have _always enjoyed a challenge…" He gave Lucy a wink.

Bickslow slapped his brother, "Cosplayer's staying far away from you, Van. Far, far away."

"Can we focus?" Xally chimed in.

Farron ignored his brothers, and asked his own question, "This is something I've not heard about before, Lucy. Is there anything special, any duties you must carry out as the human daughter of a celestial king?"

Looking uncomfortable, she nodded, "Yes, but there's… not much I can tell you about it. Some I don't fully know yet, and the rest are secrets of the Celestial Realm I am not at liberty to discuss."

Bix wanted to argue, but Lucy glared at him, as did Arman, "Celestial Spirit Mages, much like the Spirits themselves, are honor bound to protect their spirits and secrets of the celestial realm. You will not be pressing her for more information about that," Arman commanded all of his children, who nodded.

"Okay…" Vander drawled slowly, "Guess that brings us back to why you left Fairy Tail and lied to everyone about it."

Lucy looked down at the invisible designs Erik was drawing on the table's surface.

"I…," She sighed, "You didn't see what they did to my family," the celestial mage nearly whispered, "The only time I came close to considering giving myself over to the enemy was during the hour I thought everyone had died. I was afraid, unless I left, and broadcasted my leaving, that they would use my guildmates against me again… I wasn't strong enough to stop them from trying, that much I did know."

No one spoke up, so she continued, "I felt so incredibly guilty, I could barely breathe. I wasn't sure I'd have protected my spirits well enough if I was forced to choose between them and Fairy Tail again, so I left. Made sure whatever spy was in the guild thought they were in the clear, and that I'd left for good. It was the only way I could think of to keep everyone safe… We… weren't ready to take them on, not yet. They're bastards with a terrible guild name, but they were strong enough to fight me, Natsu, Mirajane, Gramps, and Laxus consecutively and not take any unintentional losses." she told them, "besides, we couldn't find them. The only other option was to sit and wait for them to take advantage of our next weak moment and hurt people again, I couldn't let that happen."

The room was silent for a moment, before Bickslow pulled her in for a hug, "You're an idiot, Cosplayer. You didn't have to leave, or at least… not alone. The Thunder Legion would have gone with you. Your team would have too. Fuck, Gramps himself would have gone with you."

Lucy shook her head, "I know that, but the spy. My team and yours tagging along would have made it pretty obvious that I was still attached to the guild."

"You could have at least told us."

The celestial mage pulled back and gave him a raised eyebrow, "When has Natsu Dragneel ever been able to keep a secret? Or Evergreen? Or Erza - I've never seen a worse actor in my life than Erza."

"We would have found some other way to deal with it, Lucy."

"I know, but I couldn't wait. I had to take some kind of action to make sure you were all safe."

Bickslow was about to argue the point again, but Emzadi glared across the table and spoke up, "You said 'again'. That you had to choose between your spirits and Fairy Tail 'again'. What did you mean?"

Lucy averted her gaze, "Oh, umm… it's not important."

"Lucy." Zen glared at her.

She looked at him in question.

"My magic. Part of it is that I can tell when people lie to me. So I suggest you try that last statement again," he explained.

Lucy sighed in resignation, "Aquarius, okay?"

"Either I'm missing something or that explanation is," Vander drawled casually, picking at his nails with a shadow-made dagger.

"I really don't want to talk about this…"

"Sorry, Tink, but I don't think you can get away from it this time. Just tell them," he told her softly, using a tone nobody but Lucy had heard before.

Everyone looked at her expectantly.

Lucy's shoulders slumped, "The Celestial Spirit King has never been called to Earthland by a celestial mage before me, do you know why?"

Bickslow was the one to answer, "I'm guessing power. You're the strongest celestial mage I've ever heard of."

Said celestial mage nodded, "Right, it does take a large amount of power to summon a being like that. But Anna Heartfilia, my ancestor, had more than enough power to accomplish it. Several others did between her and myself, as well. The real problem with summoning him is that he has no key."

Arman was confused, "So how _did _you summon him?"

"There are a few different ways," Lucy said quietly, "I summoned him twice - technically - before I contracted him. The first time, I just got his attention by being stubborn. I'd used my magic to try forcing a sealed gate open to save a friend, and I nearly killed myself doing it. He showed up to tell me off for the insults I shouted his way, and ended up leaving having changed a celestial law. I'm still pretty proud of that," she smirked.

'_As you should be, Princess. And I am eternally grateful.' _Loke spoke in her mind. She smiled softly, pushing warm feelings through the bond.

Arman, Cristoff, Erik, and Bickslow were the only ones who didn't look shocked. Bickslow knew Loke, obviously, and had heard at least part of the story. Erik had heard the whole thing from her soul years ago when she was reminiscing with Loke at the bar at Fairy Tail, and Cris and Arman had heard of _something _happening with the spirit world years ago, when the Academe had been looking into the effect it had on the celestial realm.

"And the second time?" Arman prompted when Lucy made no attempt to continue.

"The second time, I used the only true method for actually summoning the king on one's own power - rather than just annoying him enough to make him show up. It's called a substitution summoning, I used it during Tartaros when every one of my guildmates was trapped in a curse magic known as Alegria, cast by Mard Geer Tartaros," Lucy clarified softly.

Zen reached over Erik to poke her shoulder, "... and what does that entail?"

Lucy glanced at him, nodding, "Right. I used a golden zodiac as the anchor to summon the Spirit King... Aquarius."

Farron furrowed his brows, "So anyone holding a golden key can summon the Spirit King, How has no one discovered this before?"

Lucy sighted, "Technically, yes, but it's not that simple. A failed attempt at doing so would kill the mage attempting it, and it has to be with a spirit with an incredible level of trust, and… it's not common knowledge - typically the only way to discover this truth is for a Zodiac key to inform you. The only reason you're finding out is because the King agreed to let me tell you."

She took a moment to steady herself, and continued speaking, "In addition to all that, the key used as an anchor… It's not just used that way and then goes back to normal, the key shatters. It's… a sacrifice. The spirit in question becomes trapped in the Celestial realm until their key is reformed. No one knows how long this takes, it's never been done before, but… Loke and Stache Face think it'll take a few centuries, at least."

Lucy was trembling, and she pulled her knees to her chest, hugging them tightly. Bickslow was horrified, he couldn't even imagine losing one of his babies, they were family. He knew Lucy felt the same about her own spirits. He tried to put a comforting hand on her shoulder, but she shook it off.

Silence ensued while they all absorbed this information. Kaleb found, despite his frustrations with having trouble finding her and her overall poor first impression (one he formed based on rumor alone), he was gaining a healthy amount of respect for her. Was her decision the best? Maybe not. He could think of a few other, better ways to handle the situation, but he couldn't exactly say she hadn't had the best intentions. Even through the layers of conversation happening in her complex brain, he could get a decent read on her thoughts. Enough to know she was fully genuine, anyway.

He came to the conclusion that she had been hurting for a long time, and her decisions were clouded by that hurt. So of course they weren't always the greatest.

For several long minutes, no one could bring themselves to speak up and prompt further discussion, not when Lucy looked ready to crumble.

Finally, she gathered enough courage to speak once more, "Anyway," she started, "Apparently that initial summon creates an automatic contract between the summoner and the spirit king - no details, mind you, just a connection that is later solidified by a spoken agreement. No one had ever officially summoned him before, so my spirits and I didn't know about that detail until Stache Face noticed it after. He didn't even mention it to me until I left Fairy Tail, when I anchored my keys to my soul and created the soul-anchor for his gate as well," she held a hand over her heart, where the King's mark rested.

Bickslow spoke up, "Shit, cosplayer… I had no idea. That's why you were so messed up after Tartaros?"

She nodded, but didn't say anything.

"I think…" Kaleb spoke, "Maybe we should take a break. Finish the rest of this conversation over dinner. Lucy, I'll show you to the room you can use."

She looked at the mindbender, grateful, "Thank you," she said, standing up to follow him, "I could use a nap more than dinner, honestly, my magic is still recovering."

Cris followed behind them to check over her again, to make sure her magical containers were refilling at a normal rate.

* * *

Stepping out of the room, Cristoff shut it behind him and faced his brother.

"I put her to sleep, her emotions are all over the place. I don't want anyone to press her for more details until she's had some rest."

Kaleb nodded, heading back down the stairs, "I agree. There are still a lot of unanswered questions, things we need to know, but I don't think she's some kind of criminal. For now, at least, we will keep her location from anyone else."

"Yeah. That's probably for the best. Did you try and get some details from her mind? She might be easier to read while she's sleeping."

The mindbender laughed, clapping Cris on the back as they walked into the kitchen, "_She _isn't the problem, Cris. Her spirits are all in her head, holding random conversations, half of which Lucy is a part of. It's like her own version of the family link, except instead of everyone holding one conversation and relaying important information, they are overlapping topics and debates and observations. It makes it hard to follow, and it doesn't get any better when she's sleeping."

Cris rubbed at his head, "That sounds fucking exhausting."

"It is," Erik called from the other side of the room, "She hasn't been that hyperactive in her fucked up head since she first established those links," he tapped at his own temple, "Tink is doing that shit to keep you out. Why do you think she's so tired?"

Kaleb considered this, "I suppose that makes sense. So she uses magic to sustain those conversations?"

Erik rolled his eye as they approached, "Yeah. From what I know, they're a constant drain. I'd never be able to keep it up, but her magic capacity is fucking ridiculous. Normally, when she's not constantly talking with all of them all at once, she doesn't even notice the energy it takes to maintain a loose connection with all twenty of her spirits."

"That's fairly impressive," Kaleb conceded, "So you mean normally I'd be able to just read her, without all the noise?"

The dragon slayer snorted, "I guess. The bonds fuck with my hearing regardless, but normally its not bad enough that I can't hear the gist of what's going on with her. Your magic would probably have an easier time, though. You're in her head, I hear her soul. It's different."

Kaleb agreed with that. He could tell the difference, as he observed Cobra's mind to see what he was talking about, "I see what you mean."

Erik narrowed his eye, "Stay out of my head, Legolas, I don't like you mind-fucking me without my permission."

Kaleb shrugged, "Sorry. It's a habit."

Bickslow jumped in on the conversation from where he'd been standing, trying to sneak past Mr. Elan to reach the cookies he'd long-since gotten banned from so he wouldn't 'ruin his appetite' before dinner, "Wait, you think her spirits are connected to her soul? Directly?"

Kaleb looked at his brother, "Yes," he narrowed his eyes as he looked into the seith's mind, "You've seen the connections, Bix. How did you not notice?"

Bix gave up on trying to steal a cookie, rubbing at a red spot on his arm where he'd just gotten smacked with a kitchen utensil, "I guess I did notice, I just didn't understand. Soul bonds are pretty rare. Celestial spirits usually have a thread to their keyholders soul, but an actual bond can be dangerous, I've never seen one apart from the dragon kin thing," the tall mage clarified, plopping down at the table next to Erik.

"Dangerous how?" Cris asked, being the only other person at the table who couldn't just get more details by listening (Erik) or looking (Kaleb).

Bickslow shrugged, "In cosplayer's case? I'm not too worried, especially now I know more of the story, but in general it opens souls up to corruption. Dragon bonds are less dangerous, because their second soul acts as a buffer - the dragon portion of a slayer's soul has the ability to sever a bond that becomes taxing on the slayer. Human souls don't have that. Lucy's soul though, I've seen it all but shattered before - and now I know why - but even then it was pure. She might have a harder time blocking out some strong emotions from her spirits though. Probably act more impulsively, but even then she'd never act on something truly contrary to her beliefs."

Emzadi had joined the group of males when she heard 'dragon', and she sat on the kitchen counter near them listening. Looking at Cristoff, she tilted her head curiously, "Hey, Cris, you've always been more in tune with your dragon soul than I am. Tell me… have you felt an odd urge to claim a perfect stranger as kin lately?"

The lunar slayer nodded and leaned against the wall, face thoughtful, "Yeah, I feel the pull to claim Lucy same as you, but I don't know why so I haven't acted on it."

Erik chimed in, "It's just Lucy," he told them, "Everyone but that idiot Natsu has claimed her, and even after everything, the sky and iron slayers refused to completely sever the connection. No idea why, besides the fact that we all lo-...tolerate her. She has more self-proclaimed siblings than even you all do."

Kaleb smirked. He knew the poison slayer almost said 'love', but when said slayer glared at him he just shrugged and kept it to himself. If the guy didn't feel comfortable expressing himself it wasn't his business.

"Aww, widdle Ewik woves his widdle sister….." Bickslow teased, reaching out to pinch the man's cheeks before pulling back suddenly when he almost lost his fingers to the guy's fangs.

"Whatever," Cobra said, looking anywhere but at the other mages at the table.

"Cobra," Cristoff spoke, approaching his fellow dragon slayer, "Can I-"

"None of Tink's kin will stop you from also claiming her. She doesn't have a dragon mate, so you're safe," he said, not looking up from the interesting speck of dirt on the wall.

"-take a look at your eye?"

"What?" Erik looked up in surprise, "Why?"

"...did you not notice that Lucy now has two functioning eyes? The eye was still there, just damaged, I was able to fix it."

"...What's your point?"

Cristoff rolled his own eyes, "Your injuries were similar, I can tell because neither of you had an unsightly hole in your face where your eye used to be. It's likely there's still enough left to repair, just like I did with Lucy," Cristoff explained. Slowly. Like he was talking to a child.

To be fair, he was kind of behaving like one.

"I am not, Moony. Just… being realistic. I've been a cyclops for a hell of a lot longer than Bright Eyes."

"Just let me look, will you?"

Erik sighed, but turned to face him, "Fine. Don't run off and cry when you can't fix it, I warned you."


	36. Chapter 36

**Dear Readers,**

**Here ya go!  
**

**Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail, Desna owns the Pradesh Fam. GoddessxNyte2 is my beta and probably my biggest fan (besides myself).**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

"Aquarius!"

Lucy woke up screaming the name of the water spirit, for the first time in over a year and a half. Panting and sweating, a phantom pain in her leg where she could still clearly see the faint scars from the mini-explosions Jackal had so kindly delivered to it all that time ago, she clutched at the sheets.

"Fucking goddamn it…" Lucy whispered to herself, trying to calm her frantic heart. She should have known telling other people about it would only bring that moment straight back to the forefront of her mind. She wanted to hit something, but everything in the room she was staying in was too nice, she didn't want to break it all. She chose to grit her teeth instead, clenching her fists against the pain in her heart.

'_I am sure my father appreciates your restraint,' _she heard Kalebs amused voice in her head, '_And _please _don't ask your spirits to distract me. They just settled down and I'm finally getting rid of the migraine.'_

Lucy felt her frustration dissipate slightly as she laughed aloud, '_...you and me both. Though I still don't appreciate you hanging out in my head.'_

'_It's an interesting place,' _Kaleb admitted, '_Though, I'm not actually here to entertain myself. I sensed your panic and wanted to make sure you were alright. Do you have that dream often? It has been several years since then, you may consider talking to someone about it.'_

'_Thanks for your insight, Doctor Kaleb,'_ even _she_ could hear the snark in her mental voice, and she cringed, '_Ah, I'm sorry about that. I do appreciate your concern. To answer your question, no, I don't have this dream often. I used to, but since I left Fairy Tail I've been either too tired to dream at all, or I dream about my family dying. I guess talking about Aquarius's sacrifice today just made it… a little closer to the surface is all.'_

'_I am sorry about that,' _Kaleb apologized, '_But we needed the truth. Still do. Bickslow has been a mess about it, you know. And besides that, we want to help you. This isn't like Tartaros, Lucy, and none of us are trapped in the Alegria curse. You're not alone.'_

Lucy let her head fall into her hands as she took a deep breath, '_I know that. And I'm stronger now, I can protect everyone without running away this time…'_

'_You don't have to protect everyone. We protect each other,' _Kaleb argued, '_I thought Fairy Tail would have made that clear to you.' _

'_Yeah. Until I almost lost them all. Twice. And I wasn't strong enough to protect anyone the same way they protected me. Look,' _Lucy sighed, '_I really don't want to talk about this right now. I need to take a walk. You still have all of Bosco searching for me or can I release some magic?'_

'_Bosco is still looking for you, but if you're still on estate grounds the wards should hide you. And I'd appreciate it if you stayed on the estate grounds,' _Kaleb advised her.

'_Don't act like you're not going to be listening to my every thought while my head is clear, Kaleb. We both know you'll be keeping tabs on me.'_

She heard a faint sound of laughter coming from above her. He must be staying in the room directly on top of hers.

'_You're not wrong. Be careful, you'll feel the edge of the wards if you're paying attention.'_

Lucy stood up and stretched, '_Thanks.'_

* * *

Lucy never returned to bed. She sat at the edge of the water the rest of the night and into the morning, activating the Mark of Aquarius on her collarbone to feel the waves and lightly manipulate the water. That was the only thing she ever used her newfound water magic for. She'd never even tried to wield it appropriately for battle, though she probably could.

The Mark seemed to have given her both the ability to wield water magic as well as some instinctual knowledge of how to use it. She had no doubt that she could use it to a devastating effect, she just… couldn't bring herself to use it. She'd rather use it for the sole purpose of feeling closer to the spirit she'd once considered her second mother. Her only mother, really, for a long time. She had always loved Layla, knew she was a wonderful woman, a great mother, but… she was barely a memory. She died when Lucy was barely old enough to understand it.

If you wanted to know who _raised _Lucy, in a house where her only biological parent couldn't stand the sight of her, you just had to look at the temperamental mermaid spirit.

Lucy often wondered if her tendency to invoke _Scary Lucy _came from what she learned from her water spirit.

Lost in thought, the celestial mage didn't notice when another mage approached her, and so when they spoke, Lucy nearly jumped out of her skin and shot all the water she'd been playing with at her 'attacker' out of pure instinct.

Xally laughed, and took control of the water herself to save her outfit, manipulating it gently back to join the rest of the Grass Sea, "I do love the water here, but I just bought this ensemble," the young raven-haired woman laughed.

Lucy's face turned a bit pink, "Oh, sorry. You scared me, I didn't mean to throw all that at you."

The water mage smiled at her, and held her hand out to help Lucy to her feet. She eyed it for only a moment before she took it, standing and letting her magic recede.

Xally watched as the faint glow from the mark on Lucy's collarbone faded from gold into the same black it was when she'd first seen it, standing out starkly on the celestial mage's pale skin. She raised an eyebrow, "That's nifty."

Sighing, Lucy nodded, "Aquarius, she was… temperamental and pretended like she hated me most of the time, but we were really close. When… well, when everything happened, she gifted me with her magic. Said to use it to protect myself, since she couldn't be there to save my sorry ass," she laughed, "Her words."

The young healer laughed lightly as well, "She sounds… interesting."

"She is. Whatever she's doing, I hope she's happy. I should probably check in with Scorpio, but the last time I did that he came back to recite her most recent lecture. I miss those, if I'm being honest, but I just want to hear them from her, you know?"

Nodding, Xally responded, "I think I know what you mean."

"Enough of all that though!" Lucy said brightly after a few minutes, faking cheerfulness, "Let's go meet with the others. I did bail yesterday before all their questions were answered, I think they'll all want to jump back into the discussion now."

"Yeah," Xally said, sheepish, "They sent me to get you. Said to bribe you with breakfast."

Lucy's smile turned genuine, "Breakfast it is then. Let's go."

* * *

Lucy expected the questioning to start right away, but was spared for a while as the entire Pradesh family bantered, played, teased, scolded, or fought with each other. Lucy found herself comparing them to a more mature, mini version of Fairy Tail (with significantly less destruction).

Vander kept making, admittedly _very _smooth passes at her. She was half convinced to take him up on his offer, but just like usual, she found herself too preoccupied with the most recent crisis to partake.

Zen hovered around her. He seemed to be falling in with the others well enough, but every once in a while she'd notice him tense up. And for some reason, whenever the teasing fell on her, he'd defend her either with a silent glare or an actual spoken reprimand. She thought it had something to do with her saving his life, that was until Vander had teased Zen back, and she herself felt an overwhelming urge to come to the man's aid (though he likely didn't need her help, he hadn't looked tense at all).

Vander backed off for about ten minutes after that while Lucy finished her pancakes, having seen a hint of Scary Lucy. Or at least, that's what Bix had whispered in his ear.

Bickslow was just enjoying whatever wicked teases were thrown around the table, offering few of his own, but adding on to some of the more clever lines. It made Lucy smile seeing him so at ease after how sad he'd seemed when she first reconnected with him.

Farron and Arman, unsurprisingly, were the source of most of the scolding, but for the most part they were talking quietly at the other end of the table with Xally, laughing at whatever jokes caught their attention.

Emzadi - for some reason - kept grabbing bits of food from other people's plates to eat, claiming she deserved their food because she had to put up with their idiocy. Lucy agreed with this, but was also curious as to why the solar dragon slayer hadn't actually eaten any of her own food.

Kaleb and Cristoff were nearly constantly laughing, which she would have found strange if she didn't know Kaleb's magic. She imagined they were both silently making fun of their family, and just as soon as the thought crossed her mind, she heard Kaleb's voice in her head as his eyes locked with hers.

'_You're not wrong. Want to join?'_

'_Making fun of people who can't hear me? Count me in.'_

He laughed again, and when Lucy was 'added' to the conversation, she was surprised to hear that her poison dragon kin was also involved. Though, she shouldn't have been. His snark was the most amusing thing she knew of most of the time, so of course he would be the main entertainment. His sharp-witted commentary had her giggling out loud enough that the others grew suspicious, and eventually called all four mind-linked mages out for having fun at their expense.

None of the four felt guilty about that, but Kaleb did finally resolve the link after a few choice insults from Erik toward the Seith Mage for ruining their fun.

Finally, when everyone had finished eating, they all directed their attention to Lucy once more, looking at her expectantly.

Her smile died a little, but didn't fall completely, as she sighed and addressed the eager mages, "Alright. What else have I not covered?"

'_Will you berate me if I ask the first question again?' _Kaleb's voice sounded in her head.

Lucy suppressed a chuckle, shaking her head slightly, and so Kaleb began, "Did you steal Yukino Augira's celestial gate keys? If so, for what purpose?"

The blonde dropped rested her chin on her hand and looked directly at Kaleb, "Yes… and no… Kinda, but not really."

Zen was… confused. He didn't sense she was lying at all, but she'd just given four consecutive contradictory statements about the same question.

Arman tilted his head, "Would you care to expand on that?"

Lucy nodded, "Right, right. So, I told you the stupidly named guild that attacked Fairy Tail was after the Zodiac Keys, right?"

Nods around the table confirmed her statement.

"At the time, Yukino held two of the original Zodiac Twelve, and the Thirteenth Zodiac. Libra, Pisces, and Ophiuchus. When I left Fairy Tail, I went straight there to warn them of the threat."

"So you went from warning them about someone trying to take her keys, to being the person taking her keys?" Vander questioned.

Lucy narrowed her eyes at him, "In a sense, I guess," she told him, rubbing at the key tattoos on her wrists, "She asked me to take them."

"Why would she do that?" Cristoff asked, curious.

"... that's not really for me to say."

Kaleb could see what she was saying, as he focused on her. Her brain, now no longer muffled and barricaded by illogical thoughts and conversations, was extremely well organized. He flicked through memories from the night she spoke with the twin dragons and the girl in question, and while he saw her point, Ms. Augira's business was her own, the others needed further explanation. Besides, the white-haired woman had given birth months ago, it wasn't like it was a secret anymore.

"You're going to have to elaborate Lucy. Or I could show them your memories?"

Lucy considered this for a moment, before nodding to him, "I guess it will feel less like me telling everyone her business if you let her tell everyone through the memory," Lucy reasoned, giving her consent for him to share it.

"Bright Eyes, the way your brain works sometimes is illogical as shit," Cobra chimed in, receiving a rubber band to the face from a scowling celestial mage.

"Where did you even get that?!"

"I've been saving it, since that day you flicked my own hair tie at me," Lucy said, as if he had asked a stupid question.

Everyone but Erik laughed softly at the poison slayer's expense.

Arman cleared his throat, gathering everyone's attention, and looked pointedly at Kaleb.

"Right, here," he said, distributing the memory into the family link he always get loosely open, after looping in Zen, Erik, and Lucy herself.

They all 'watched' as the scene played out in front of them. Lucy's protests at taking the keys, how Yukino had practically begged her to take them, how grateful the mage was when Lucy finally agreed. How happy Sting was to be a father. How terrified Lucy and Rogue were of Sting's ticket to fatherhood. How Lucy's dumbass self told Sting to report her.

"Wait, wait," Bickslow said, waving his arms and staring incredulously at Lucy, "You told _Sting Eucliff, _the most over dramatic dragon slayer on the planet, to 'fake' chase you across the continent?"

Lucy sank down in her chair, "...yeah, not one of my finer moments…"

Kaleb chuckled, "He was a surprisingly good actor, too. He called me, frantic, begging me to help him return his mate's beloved keys back to her before they had their child, because Yukino had promised Ophiuchus she would deliver the baby while they were still contracted."

Lucy and Erik paled.

"You…" Lucy turned to face Kaleb slowly, "...you know Ophiuchus is a… giant, snarky, sadistic snake, right…?"

Kaleb shook his head, looking surprised and, dare she say it, a little embarrassed, "I… did not, actually, no…"

Lucy's laughter was probably heard in Peregrande, until Erik covered her mouth with his hand, hissing in her ear, "I just got full eyesight back, over here, 'Phemus. You make me go deaf and I'll do something drastic."

The celestial mage rolled her eyes, "Nope, you won't. But alright, I'll keep my peals of laughter to a respectable volume," She whispered to his sensitive ears.

"Thank you. I appreciate that," he said, sitting back down.

Farron spoke up, "I… understand what happened now, but may I ask why Yukino was so afraid of keeping her keys?"

"She explained, she didn't want to feel hunted all the time because of her magic."

"Is it really that big of a problem?"

Lucy sighed, "Farron, do I strike you as a weak mage?"

He shook his head, "Not at all. I've never seen you spar personally, but your magic is impressive and you did take on Peregrande with one other mage and escaped with only a few cuts. Why do you ask?"

"Because celestial mages are seen as weak. Why do you think that is?"

Cris answered, "Few celestial mages can do what you can, Lucy."

She nodded, "That's true. Even fewer still are given the chance at it, though," she informed them, "I'm sure Bickslow has told you of at least a few of the times I was kidnapped?"

Everyone nodded at that, and Arman had a knowing look on his face.

"Any of those times I could have died. Would have, if I didn't have Fairy Tail chasing after me to keep me safe. The fact of the matter is, celestial magic is a favorite target of dark guild end-of-the-world plots. It's not the only magic that is targeted, but it requires so much magic and energy to be an effective defense, that very few actually get to a point where they can protect themselves adequately. Most are killed before they get the chance."

Xally was the first to speak up, "So why does anyone use it?"

Lucy's features darkened, but not because the question angered her. The answer did, "There are two answers to that. One - celestial magic isn't a magic of summoning beings from another world to fight your battles. True celestial magic is about partnering with celestial beings to protect the celestial realm from threats on Earthland, and in turn they help their keyholder. That's why they are called 'contracts', both parties benefit. Born celestial mages, like myself and those of my bloodline, have been tasked with this duty for generations, and our magic, while powerful, doesn't lend itself to other forms of magic easily. If I wanted to quit celestial magic - which I never will - I'd have to quit being a mage altogether. The concentration it took to even learn basic requip magic was ridiculous.

"Now, Yukino isn't a born celestial mage, but she took on the task of protecting her keys and being their partners without hesitation, but that is extremely rare. Most frequently, people tend to attempt to learn and use celestial magic because they _are _dark mages, or their misconceptions of the magic itself lead them to believe that spirits are tools. Celestial beings are always more powerful than their human mage counterparts, so when the magic was first created, the laws set into the magic favored humans - so that humans couldn't easily be manipulated or killed by their summons. Unfortunately," Lucy frowned, "in ensuring the safety of humans, the spirits essentially crippled themselves. They tied their power while on earthland to the power of the mage that summoned them, as well as enter into lopsided contracts that make it so that humans with bad intentions easily became their slavers. Abusers. When used by a dark mage, celestial magic can become powerful quite quickly, although it will never match up to the rare mage that gains power in the way it is intended."

The explanation finished, everyone took a moment to absorb the information.

After another moment's silence, Lucy spoke up again, "So, to answer your question, Farron, a bit more simply: Yukino feared she could not protect the child she was bringing into the world while also being tasked with protecting her spirits and the spirit realm itself. She has suffered for the sake of her spirits before, and had I not been willing to take them, she would have done so again without hesitation. But I don't blame her for wanting a life beyond that, the burden of celestial magic can be a heavy one. I'd suggest," she turned her attention to all of them, "that none of you blame her for it either."

All of them nodded, for most it being the first time the magic was really explained to them. Among them, Bickslow and Arman were the only two who didn't seem surprised in the least, nor judgemental of Yukino initially for giving up the spirits she'd claimed as family. Arman had lived with Ganier, who had been one of the few who had grown strong enough, as Lucy did, to defend herself and the Ivory Keys she'd held. Even though she had lived in a time when more celestial mages existed in general, so she was singled out less often as a target, but the older Pradesh could only imagine how difficult it would be for a light celestial mage to survive when there were so few left. Bickslow, he acted in much the same capacity as a seith mage. More often than not, any target he had on his back was from _other _seith mages, but the role of a protector for the spirits he had was a role that his magic and celestial spirit magic shared. He understood the burdens just the same, and felt as Lucy did - he'd never give them up.

"So…." Lucy started again, a little awkwardly, "Um… anybody else have any questions…?"

Vander spoke up, "You want to get out of here, Mia Stella?"

Kaleb smacked him, "I don't think that's what she meant, Van."

The shadowquip grumbled something about being cockblocked, but posed a real question all the same, "So, I guess what I'm curious about is how a pretty little blonde woman such as yourself found her way into the Earthland's most misogynistic country?"

"Yeah, Bright Eyes, why don't you explain that one to all of Zen's family?" Erik teased with a wiggle of his eyebrows, "Tell them how you were just… drawn… toward the world's hottest gladiator."

Lucy actually stood up and crossed the room to punch him, much to the dragon slayer's frustration, "Damn, remind me never to teach you anything again. You just turn around and use it against me…"

The celestial mage ignored him as she returned back to her seat, also ignoring the raised eyebrow and small, intrigued smirk Zen was giving her, "It was _not _like that."

"Well, not that I would have complained," the archangel spoke, "but that much is true. If it was similar to what I felt, there was a magical pull. If I could have actually _gone _anywhere I would have followed it, but no - it wasn't sexual. More like familiar, like my magic recognized hers."

Lucy nodded, "It was similar for me. Erik and I were travelling through Iceberg. We meant to go to Stella weeks before, but _someone_ kept sending mages out to look for me, and we didn't want to be any closer to Bosco and White Sea, so we had to adjust and head for Bellum-"

'_You can't blame me for the fact that you had Sting Eucliff beg for help from every major guild in Ishgar,' _Kaleb spoke in her mind.

She didn't even stop talking, only sent him a small glare, "-When we got farther North, near the Pergrandian border, I felt a kind of imbalance in my magic. I kept track of it until we were a days' walk from the Bellum/Iceberg border and I realized that it was coming from Peregrande. The pull got stronger the closer we got, and my spirits and I recognized it as some kind of heavenly magic and decided we needed to check into it. So I convinced Erik to chase it down with me. We eventually found ourselves in the capital, and I found Zen fighting wyverns in Sky's Reach two days after we entered the country. You know the rest."

"Actually, we don't know the rest," Emzadi countered, "We walked in to Peregrande ready to tear it to pieces, and found only rubble, and you three sitting in the middle of a pile of bodies," she said, a little grumpy that she hadn't been needed to fight, "A pile of bodies, I might add, that included the King of Peregrande."

"Okay, hold on. We are getting a little ahead of ourselves here," Xally pointed out, "Back to the weird magical pull thing. Do you still have that?"

Zen and Lucy looked at each other, then, considering.

"...I… think so?" Zen answered first.

Lucy nodded slowly, "Kind of. It's way more faint. I think it might have something to do with my celestial roles, to be honest, but I haven't had time to ask."

Arman raised an eyebrow, "And by that you mean…?"

Lucy rubbed at her temples, '_Father…?'_

She could feel him through the bond, but he wasn't responding. Kaleb saw what she was doing and just observed silently, curious.

'_Uh… hey... Dad? Am I supposed to call you that?'_

No answer. He seemed distracted. Lucy pushed more magic through the connection, '_Stache Face!'_

'_Lucy? Is there something I can help you with, daughter?'_

Kaleb's laughter at her frustrated expression confused the rest of the table, apart from Erik and to some extent, Arman and Farron, who's sound magic was somewhat similar to the poison slayer's - all of whom had discovered the best way to get past the fuzziness that Lucy's soul bonds caused was to just pay attention to Kaleb's clearer image of her thoughts.

'_I've been trying to reach you. What's the point of a soul-bond if you don't pay attention to it?'_

'_I… am sorry, Lucy. Draco is starting fights with Loke again that I have been stuck mediating.'_

'_Hold on.'_

Lucy focused on her strongest soul bond, '_Loke. How many times have I told you that Draco is just trying to get a reaction from you, and to just ignore it?'_

'_Princess, this time he took it too far! He replaced all my artwork with dragons!'_

'_...do you know how ridiculous it is that all your artwork now is Lions anyway?'_

'_You wound me, Lucy.'_

'_Listen, I need to talk to Stache Face. Please. Just go fix your pictures and you can go back to arguing with the dragon constellation when you're done, okay?'_

He didn't answer but she felt his resignation through the bond, '_Lucy, daughter of mine, I am not sure how you do it, but even after millennia of practice you are better at this than I am. Now, what do you need?'_

'_What am I allowed to tell people about my titles and responsibilities?'_

'_What do you mean? Everything! Are you ashamed to call yourself my child, my child?'_

Kaleb laughed out loud, and the sound trio all chuckled. Lucy tried, and failed, to relieve her headache by rubbing her temples. She had no idea that the Spirit King could behave so much like Gildarts. Or Natsu. Or some strange combination of the two.

'_No, Father, I am not ashamed of you. But there are so many restrictions on what you can say to me, I assumed there were restrictions on me as well.'_

'_You are human, so no. These are not celestial secrets, daughter, but titles you have earned that we expect you to bear, both here in our world and in your own. I encourage you to share what you know of your duties with your allies. I feel you will find it difficult to complete them if you try to hide them.'_

Lucy nodded to herself, '_Okay. Can you tell me what you know of the pull I felt with Zen?'_

'_I have my suspicions, Lucy, but I do not know. I would suggest have Crux research the issue. I may be immortal but the time of the archangel's is unclear even to my memory.'_

'_Okay. I'll do that. Loke should be back soon, so I'll let you get back to work.'_

Lucy felt his exasperation through the bond before she stopped feeding magic into it. His was the one gate she did not constantly maintain - it would exhaust her to do so constantly, his gate, even just for a mental connection, demanded excessive energy to activate.

"Okay, Arman, to answer your question, what I mean by the pull having something to do with my titles is this: as the holder of all active Zodiac Keys, and adopted daughter of the Spirit King, I am bound to protect more than the spirits in my care. I'd get into it, but it would be easier just to show you," she looked to Kaleb.

He saw the memory she wanted to share, and promptly dumped it in to the link he'd made earlier.

It was Karadin's trial. They all paid close attention, watching all the way up to just as Lucy swung her blade before cutting the memory.

Vander pouted, but the rest were grateful, especially Lucy. It had taken her some time to realize that, though her actions were justified, she was far from bloodthirsty. Normally.

"So anyway," she spoke up, "That's the gist of it. You know about as much as I do. But the lines of the trial weren't random. Part of my duty as Starbringer is the protection of the celestial realm itself, and by extension, any person, mage, or relic under that realm's guidance. Zen falls under my protection, so his magic called to me while he was in danger in the pits. And from what I gather, Archangels were also protectors of the celestial realm, and as the Celestial Princess, his magic would protect me as well, and as I was constantly avoiding mages… it's possible my magic sought his out as well. That's just a theory though, but I will ask Crux to explore the issue further."

"So, you think our magics are just trying to protect each other?" Zen clarified.

"Pretty much, yeah. It's the best idea I could come up with."

"It would make sense," Xally agreed.

Emzadi asked the next question, "So, who all knew about this. Obviously you weren't at this entirely alone," she pointed out.

The celestial mage cringed. She'd hoped they wouldn't ask, "I'll tell you, but you can't get mad at them. Most of them I tricked into agreeing, so when you want to be pissed off - I'm talking to you, Bickslow - be pissed off at me."

He nodded.

"Laxus and Gramps… I tricked them into agreeing, made them a horrible promise that would have gotten me killed if they didn't let me do as I wished. Gray… I tried, but I couldn't lie to him, but I didn't tell him everything either. All he knew was that I wasn't the traitor I pretended to be, and that I was going off alone on a dangerous mission. Sting, Ryos, Yukino, obviously, you all saw that. And… Gildarts. He trained me for the first four months, until Cana - I don't know if she's okay, I hope she's better now - but he was with me until he heard how badly Cana was taking everything. He went back after that, and it was just Erik and I after that. We worked with Crime Sorciere - Meredy, mostly - to try and track Fallen Star's movement and had no luck, and we checked in with Laxus or Gramps weekly, but that was it."

Bickslow looked hurt, they had been close for a few years when she'd gone and left, and it was clear he was upset that he wasn't trusted with the information. To be fair, she'd not met with him before she was 'exiled'. But if she were being honest, she likely wouldn't have told him even if she had.

"I'm sorry, Bix. I was trying to protect you. It was a dumb way to do it, but I can't change that now."

It was quiet for so long Lucy was half convinced they'd all fallen asleep with their eyes open.

She sighed, "Is there anything else I need to answer? We've been at this for hours…" and she was exhausted, but she didn't say that. She owed them, especially Bix, whatever answers they wanted.

It was that very mage who spoke up once again, "I did have one last question," he admitted.

"What is it, Bix?"

"What… happened to you? What did they do that scared you badly enough that you thought Fairy Tail couldn't protect itself, or you?"

For once, Lucy felt the memories surfacing and didn't fight them.

"Kaleb, will you…?"

He saw what she was talking about, and cringed, but nodded. He could at least not force her to retell that particularly horrible story, and maybe they'd get information she'd not noticed before.

"Sure," he looked around the table, "but it won't be pleasant."


	37. Chapter 37

**Dear Readers,**

**Desna owns the Pradesh Family. Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail. Is this news to anybody? :P**

**All hail my beta: GoddessxNyte2**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

After the memory started, Lucy found she couldn't witness it again. Couldn't relive it. The way he brought the recollection to the surface was like she was right back there, in the middle of those emotions, feeling every bit of pain all over again. Maybe it was different for the others. Or she hoped so, at least.

But for her part, she… just couldn't handle it again. Nor the looks of pity she was sure she'd get from everyone else.

So, she asked Kaleb to kindly remove her from the link, and left. Maybe the physical distance from everyone else while they witnessed the single most painful moments of her life would keep her from feeling that pain all over again.

It didn't work, but she found that looking out over the Grass Sea while trying desperately to forget her interaction with Fallen Star was better than watching everyone witness some of her weakest moments.

* * *

Zen, he handled it… very poorly. If there was any question that their magic was still connected, well, there was no longer any doubt. He felt his magic stirring under the surface of his skin, fluctuating as he witnessed the woman who'd saved his life being tortured. Halfway through the memory, he'd grit his teeth and asked Kaleb to remove him from the link, because he was certain if he didn't find a way to release his magic he'd do so accidentally, and destroy the home he'd found with his family.

Kaleb, witnessing the memory in full for the first time, was pale and his fists were clenched, but he nodded anyway and released Zen's mind from the link. The former gladiator escaped out the back door quickly, immediately running toward the beach so he could release his magic safely.

Everyone else managed to last the entire memory. Once they'd seen Makarov cast Fairy Law and the memory faded from their minds, none of them found it easy to digest.

Xally, she'd seen countless battle wounds while working her healing magic, and during her training to become a doctor, but…witnessing it happen first hand, to someone she had recently come to truly like and greatly respect, it made her sick. Literally. She ran to the bathroom to expel her breakfast.

Bickslow was taking it the worst, and really, that made sense. He'd known her the longest, after all. And he'd blamed her for leaving, had been so angry when she told him the truth, that she'd lied to everyone to run off out of some misplaced sense of guilt.

Now? Still, she could have found another way to handle it, but… he couldn't blame her for making the decision she did. How could he? He'd seen the plan form in her mind, seen how guilty she felt for everything, how much she wanted to spare them further pain. How determined she was to get stronger, to protect everyone.

Maybe she was wrong, but she'd been through hell, and all she wanted when she came out the other side, broken and hurt, was to protect everyone else.

Bickslow didn't wait to chat with everyone about the information they'd gotten. He left. He had to find a cosplayer, to apologize for how he'd judged her. To give her a hug and tell her that he understood, and would stick by her side from here out.

Vander, for all his joking and making passes at the woman, had come to respect her. How could he not? He'd walked into a devastated, bloodied battlefield that had been almost entirely her doing, and walked out with the brother he thought they'd all lost. And just a year ago, she'd been weakened, broken, bloody, and bruised herself, and had protected her spirits even when she was sure it would cost her own life. Vander was a terrifying mage when given proper motivation.

And he'd just been handed the only motivation he'd need in order to find this guild she'd been looking for. If he wasn't sure he wanted to help take them out before, he certainly was now.

Emzadi was heated. Literally. Trying to hold onto her magic, fighting it in a way she'd not had to in years. Cris seemed to be in a similar state. Both decided that claiming the woman as kin couldn't wait much longer - their dragons were being particularly demanding about it now, and neither could find a reason not to. They'd just witnessed how far she would go to protect her family.

Erik would have been literally spitting poison, but thankfully, he'd heard it before. In the late hours when her nightmares took hold and she shouted in her sleep. He'd asked her about it, and similar to now, she'd showed him what had happened. She pulled her magic from maintaining her bonds and let the memory flow through her mind.

He'd melted every tree they came across for three miles. Now, though, he was doing what he could to make sure the two raging dragons didn't destroy the entire mansion by dragging them both out of the house until they could find Lucy and claim her.

Arman didn't dwell on the memory, and neither did Farron. They were unbelievably angry, but they did what they do best: get things done. Arman walked to his office, Farron just steps behind him, both calling in favors to track down the dark guild. Arman… may or may not have been getting things set up for when it was all over, so he could get Lucy's name cleared.

Kaleb found himself impressed with Lucy's conviction. He had held something of a grudge against her for having hurt his brother so profoundly, but he didn't any longer. He knew Bix didn't resent her either. Right or wrong didn't matter, she'd made her decision to protect them. Kaleb… couldn't say he'd have made a different decision in the same situation. In that aspect, he and Lucy were similar. They'd take pain if it meant their families were spared of it.

"Van," Kaleb started, "You have any ideas about that guild?"

Across from him, in a rare show of seriousness, Van shook his head, "No. Not yet, but we'll find them," the shadowquip's expression turned playful, "You couldn't find Stella, but you're bound to have better luck with an entire guild."

Kaleb rolled his eyes.

* * *

Lucy watched from the balcony as Zen left the house a few minutes after she had. He glanced in her direction, taking in her form briefly as if to reassure himself that she was really there, but made no move to approach her. He gave her a nod and she felt his magic as his wings manifested, and he took off toward the beach and started attacking the air.

If she wasn't so emotionally exhausted, she might have joined him. Oddly enough, over the last year she'd found that training was actually… satisfying. Something she never thought she'd be the one to admit. But it gave her a clarity she craved when the world around her got crazy.

Instead of joining him, she just closed her eyes and focused on Aquarius' magic. Feeling the water a hundred yards away, and letting its natural flow and calming feeling relax her.

"Cosplayer," she heard Bix speak up behind her. She'd known he was there, but didn't want to face the pity she was sure she'd see on his face. She made no move to respond, but did take a step to the side to give him room on the balcony to join her. He did so.

"I… I'm sorry."

She glared at him, ready to tell him off for feeling sorry for her, but the look in his eyes threw her off. He didn't look like he pitied her, he looked… upset with himself?

"I judged you, you know. When you left. I didn't believe it all, not really, and when I got some distance from the situation I didn't believe it at all. But I was pissed. At you, for leaving me and the rest of us behind. For whatever the fuck it was you decided was more important than the family we'd all built together."

"Bix, you had every right-"

"No, Lucy, I didn't. You know why I always valued your friendship so much?"

Lucy smiled, "Because I'm awesome?"

Bickslow's serious expression cracked, and he gave her a tongue-lolling grin, "That, too. But really, it was because you were one of the few people who didn't judge me. For my culture being so opposite of Fiore's, or for my magic, or for my fucked up sense of humor. You just accepted me, no questions, ya know? It was the same for the rest of the Legion. But…" he turned serious again, "I judged you, but after seeing that, I get why you left. And I'm sorry I didn't give you the benefit of the doubt."

The celestial mage smacked him lightly, "I _did _try really hard to make an enemy of myself, Bixy. Don't beat yourself up. Let's just call it even, yeah?"

He pulled her into a crushing hug, a hand on her shoulders and the other on her head, pulling her into his chest, "Yeah, alright, Cosplayer."

* * *

The rest of the day, Lucy was given a reprieve from questions. She talked to most everyone individually, but not for long. She was too deep in thought, planning her next move, to really focus on a conversation.

She did find it odd that she didn't see pity in anyone's eyes, but she was extremely grateful for it.

It wasn't until she retreated back to the guest room that she caught up with Erik. She'd just finished a bath and put on a T-Shirt and pajama shorts when he walked in her room.

"Hey Tink," he greeted, grabbing the hairbrush from her hands and taking over the task.

He gave up after a second and tossed the hairbrush across the room. Lucy laughed, retrieving it and settling back on the bed, "What's up, Cobs?"

"Just wanted to say, I'm proud as fuck."

She raised an eyebrow, "About Peregrande?"

He shook his head, "Nah, I mean with that 'sexless sleazebag' from Fallen Star."

Lucy's eyes lit up, "Oh! I completely forgot to tell you about all my mid-torture insults! I was so excited to tell you about it, too!"

He grinned, "Yeah, pretty impressive 'Phemus. I remembered today. The first time I heard about it all I was too pissed off to mention it, but I was particularly fond of 'cock-gobbling twat'."

Lucy smiled at the praise, but pointed out, "You know I have both eyes now, right? 'Phemus doesn't work as a nickname anymore, genius," she made a point to blink both her eyes.

He rolled his own, "Listen, I'm not dropping 'Phemus just because it doesn't apply anymore. You'll always be a giant, sheep-herding cyclops to me, and you may as well get used to it."

She flicked a rubber band at his face. Again.

"Ow! Shit! Where the fuck do you keep getting those?!"


	38. Chapter 38

**Dear Readers,**

**Last chapter for today. I will keep posting regularly, but it might be a few days. Don't get mad! I still love you.**

**OH - also - if anybody knows good graphic artists who can help me bring this version of Lucy (and the Major Problems version) to life, drop me a comment or review.**

**Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail, Desna owns the Pradesh Family, GoddessxNyte2 is my beta.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

"But… I don't think… I-"

"You said you would do whatever we decided after we heard everything," Kaleb pointed out to a very flustered Lucy.

"Well, I meant with letting people know! Not getting a whole new guild involved in my problems!"

Kaleb raised an eyebrow, "I'm the master of White Sea, we've been looking for you for months, and you saved my brother from the Pits of Peregrande with exactly one other human ally. Did you think we were just going to let you leave without taking out this dark guild with you?"

"Look, it's not your problem-"

"Lucy," it was Erik who spoke this time, surprisingly enough using her name, "We didn't train for the last year so that you could run off and get your dumbass killed taking on a dark guild alone. The same dark guild that tortured you, that has at least one mage that went head-to-head with a wizard saint and Laxus and didn't die."

"..."

"Don't be stubborn, Cosplayer. You've protected everyone for a year, now it's time to let us help you find these assholes, and we _will _be helping you take them down."

Vander joined in, "Mia Stella, we all know you're impressive, but I swear, if you take one more large scale battle away from me I might have to sleep my way through the country to distract myself from the sorrow."

"...Van, you sleep your way through this country and all the ones surrounding it anyway…"

The shadowquip shrugged, "Not the point, Starlight."

"Lucy, seriously, don't be an idiot. Let us help you, you can't do it alone," her newest kin argued firmly.

"Em, it's-"

"She's right, Lucy. You need help, and we are going to give it to you," her second newest kin argued.

"Cristoff, just-"

"Lucy, I'm afraid I cannot let you leave the country if it is just to go get yourself killed," Arman reasoned. Farron agreed, looking ready to make the call that would close the border.

"Guys, seriously," Lucy waved her hands in front of her, "You've got it all wrong-"

"Lucy, please, I'm not much of a fighter, but I want to help," Xally said, grabbing the celestial mage's hands.

"Lucy," Zen stated firmly, "If you think, after everything you've done for me, I'd let you go alone-"

Loke materialized at Lucy's side, "Okay, seriously, you're all being idiots. If you'd let her _talk, _she'd tell you she isn't going to try and fight them alone. She already promised Laxus and Makarov that Fairy Tail could help her take them down once they were located."

Everyone but Kaleb looked confused, so Lucy clarified, "I just mean, I don't think _White Sea _needs to be involved. I've already got Fairy Tail to help me, there's no reason to put yourselves in danger, too. Right now nobody knows you're involved at all. Why not keep it that way?"

Kaleb glared at her, "Because that's not how family works, you don't just duck your head and hide when things get hard."

Lucy opened her mouth to protest but couldn't think of anything, so she closed her mouth in a frown and looked away.

A hand on her shoulder drew her attention, "Like it or not, we're here to help you. I don't know much about family, but there's no way I'm not helping you as much as I possibly can," Zen told her, "Not just because I owe you. But because we're friends, right?"

Lucy nodded, "Yeah," just as she had when they'd first met, she placed her hand on top of his, "We're friends."

"And we are kin," Cris stated, "Which means you're not getting out of my sight for long. Sorry, Lucy, but you're stuck with us."

"Yeah, pretty much," Emzadi smirked at her.

"Besides, you don't even know where to look yet," Xally pointed out, "But I bet we can find them."

Lucy made a mental note not to cross Xally. She seemed really sweet, and kind, but then again… So did Lucy, and she'd just taken on a whole country when she was mad. Something in Xally's eyes reminded her of herself and she decided that might be dangerous.

"White Sea is famous for tracking down dark mages, after all," Kaleb agreed proudly.

"Is that so...?" Lucy asked him, amusement in her eyes.

"Look, not finding you was a fluke," Kaleb narrowed his eyes at her.

"...right."

* * *

"What? What do you mean you went to Peregrande? And why are you in Bosco? And why the fuck do you have two eyes right now? It's been a week… One week since I talked to you… what the hell…?"

Laxus looked dazed. Though that was understandable.

"I mean, I went to Peregrande and found Zen Pradesh in the gladiator pits… and maybe got him out… and maybe also… killed the King, and freed the other slaves, and passed out from magic depletion… and then I woke up on a Boscan Airship with Bix."

"Okay, I need you to back up, and maybe elaborate. Who's Zen, and when the hell did Bickslow even leave Fiore?"

The seith mage propped his head on Lucy's shoulder, looking into the com that revealed a very thoroughly confused blonde dragon slayer, "Uh, about that," he said brightly, "I meant to tell you but we found my long lost big bro and had to go to Peregrande to save him so Cris teleported to Fiore to get me three days ago. It was so busy I kinda forgot to mention it."

"...you had to save your big brother… Zen Pradesh, okay, so that tells me who that is, but why did you have to go save him if Blondie already did? And why was Lucy saving him in the first place? I swear, for the one person in this guild who has been keeping tabs on you, Blondie, I'm pretty far out of the loop."

"Yeah sorry, things happened pretty fast. Anyway, basically, I'm going to be staying here for a while, going out with Van or Cris or Emzadi when we get leads to check them out. We will brief Fairy Tail when we find them, and we can all meet up and take them out. I already got Kaleb agreed to the inter-guild mission."

Laxus rubbed his temple, "You've not answered any of my questions. I mean, great, glad you're with Bix and his family, they're good people, but I have no idea what is going on. And how the hell did you manage to take on a whole country?"

"Erik helped." Lucy responded, as if that answered anything.

"Not really, Tinker Tits!" said dragon slayer called from the other room. Lucy rolled her eyes.

"... you know what? Just… let me know when you need us."

"Actually.. I was hoping you could send my team here. Everyone here thinks we should bring them in, they deserve to know the truth."

He gave her a blank look, "Are you sure about that?"

She nodded, a sad smile on her face, "I've been lying for long enough. And now, if Fallen Star attacks, I'm ready. I can protect them now. I think it's time I faced them."

Laxus looked at her for a long moment, "...alright. But Natsu isn't here, he's been off training almost as long as you have. He checks in occasionally, but he hasn't been back in a month or two. I'll have Wendy, Erza, Gray, and Jellal head that way. What should I tell them?"

Lucy frowned. She'd hoped Natsu would be his normal, happy, positive self by now. She should have known he wouldn't bounce back. She mentally put him on her list of people to track down, because she needed to fix that as soon as possible. If it _was _possible, "Just… tell them to pack for a mission and meet at the guild after close. Emzadi and Cris said they'd go pick them up."

"Alright. Stay safe, Blondie. Find those bastards soon so I can come help you kick ass."

"Got it, Laxus." she said, giving him a bright smile.


	39. Chapter 39

**Dear Readers,**

**I am really excited for this one! Let me know what you think in the reviews/comments!**

**For my guest reviewer that keeps providing me with validation... I love you :)**

**Don't forget, Desna owns the Pradesh Family, Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail, and my beta is an alpha among betas. Woo GoddessxNyte2!**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

For all her training and travelling and growing up, Lucy still found herself fidgeting nervously as she awaited the arrival of her friends, her teammates that she'd long-since betrayed.

She might not have set them up to be attacked, like she had led them to believe, but she'd lied to them. Brutally, if she was being honest, and they had every reason to hate her for it. To feel pissed off, and hurt, and genuinely unhappy that she hadn't trusted them enough to keep them in the loop. She had her reasons, but she wasn't sure they would see things her way.

Recently, she wasn't sure she saw things her way.

Then again, that was easy to say when she was on top of the world. Riding the high of rescuing the world's most attractive gladiator and bringing a king of torture and slavery to justice. It was easy to claim - while she was filled to the brim with confidence at her own abilities - that she should have stayed and relied on her guildmates more, should have believed that they could take their enemies on together. Because now she felt like she had the world at her feet.

In reality, the situation she was in over thirteen months ago was very much not the same. She'd been weak, not able to even keep her body up physically to the standard set by her magic. Hurt, recovering from her most recent, and most gruesome, torture with one eye and a lot of healing to do - physically and mentally. Guilt-ridden and self-loathing, assured that she was the cause of her family's pain, and the one putting them in danger. Convinced that it would be selfish to stay and rely on them.

In that moment, Lucy realized that she was behaving exactly as she had when she'd dug her heels in and convinced herself she was guilty for Aquarius's sacrifice. No, she wasn't throwing herself into battles she couldn't win in her grief, she was doing the same thing she'd done after. Wallowed in her own self-appointed guilt, and spent more time and energy than she had available on _feeling sorry for herself._

So much for everyone else giving her pity, she was doing it to herself.

When she left the guild, she let go of her guilt. She remembered the exact moment she'd done it, hand on the Mark of Aquarius as she apologized to the celestial realm itself, saying she was sorry, but that nothing she did would change what had happened, and vowing from that moment not to let Aquarius's sacrifice stop her from living her life.

Now she's realizing she'd traded one source of guilt for another, but the facts remain. It happened, she left, and she can't change it.

And as hard as it was for everyone? After everything she did in the last year, she _was _stronger. Stronger than she'd ever even imagined she could be. And she'd grown up.

This was the person she was now, and she decided she would be proud of that, of the things she'd accomplished, and she wouldn't apologize for anything she'd done or why. She would only be sorry for the pain her decisions caused. She would never again apologize or feel guilty for the person she'd become, and she wouldn't stand around second-guessing decisions that had already been made.

It was a conclusion she reached just in time, as right after she spoke her promise of doing just that through all her bonds, a bright white light, and golden yellow light flashed in front of her, fifty paces in front of the doors to the Pradesh Estate, signalling the arrival of Fairy Tail members.

* * *

She didn't know what she expected when her family arrived, but being tackled by a heavily armored Erza Scarlet wasn't it.

Well, maybe, but not a hug-tackle. She'd imagined something more intentionally violent. She still remembered the words she had spoken to Titania after all.

More surprising, still, was the fact that, while she'd expected Gray, Erza, Jellal, and Wendy, she had not anticipated the rest of what made up her dog-pile on the front lawn.

Erza had gotten there first, and had knocked a sheepish-looking Lucy into the ground without a moment's hesitation, leaping at her. The steel of the requip mage's shoulder armor now dug painfully into the scar on her midsection as the scarlet-haired mage sobbed into her shirt. Not a second later, Wendy latched on doing much the same thing, her face buried into the side of Lucy's neck taking in her scent.

When Wendy made contact, she felt a frayed piece of her soul warm and mend, and felt happiness spread through her being. Her kin bond with the sky maiden hadn't been damaged beyond repair, after all.

She didn't even get the opportunity to embrace the two females before she was suddenly crushed under another person's body, and she was shocked beyond belief to find that it… wasn't Gray. Or Jellal.

No, the smooth, impeccable green hair tickling her face was most definitely _Freed's._ Lucy felt happy tears form in her eyes, "W-what are you doing here, Freed?"

He didn't answer, because as he gathered the breath to, Evergreen plopped down right on top of him, forcefully expelling the air from his lungs. And everyone else's (except Erza… Erza didn't notice).

"Holy shit, did the whole guild show up ...?" Lucy asked in a strained voice, not expecting an answer.

"Nah, just us. Freed has apparently been spying on Laxus, though, because he and Evergreen accosted us when your friends from White Sea came to pick us up," Gray answered, standing calmly off to the side next to Jellal.

"...Gray…"

He flashed her a smile, pretending not to notice the tear almost falling from his left eye, "Good to see ya, Lu."

In a show of strength she didn't know she had, she managed to push gently at the mages on top of her so she could slip from underneath them and heave a sigh of relief. They didn't seem to notice, but she promised she would come back to give them all proper (and individual) hugs.

First things first, though.

"Gray!" she shouted brightly, not even fighting the tears she'd been struggling with earlier. She launched herself at him, similarly to how she had with Erik nearly a year before. Just, more violently.

Gray couldn't bring himself to care when he felt bruises form almost instantly as the blonde woman he wasn't sure he'd ever see again tackled him to the ground, just as she had been moments before. She wasn't sobbing, but she did hold his shoulders tightly enough to be mistaken for Erza, "I missed you so much, Gray…"

He choked up and buried his face in her much longer hair, arms wrapped tightly around her newly toned torso, "I missed you, too."

Jellal looked down at them both, smiling. He cared for Lucy, and was immensely glad he'd been able to pressure Meredy into admitting the truth to him when Lucy had first reached out to Crime Sorciere. He was grateful that the pink-haired mage still relied on Jellal's underground contacts when searching for information. And that she was a terrible liar.

When the others started to notice that their pile of mages had a distinct lack of it's celestial base, the blue haired heavenly body mage reached down to tap Lucy's shoulder and give her a fair warning. She looked up, then back down at Gray. She ruffled his hair as she stood up and pulled him with her.

"Thanks, Jelly!" she gave him a blinding smile, and much to his surprise, jumped at him in a hug as well. At least he remained standing as she bruised him, before letting go and tackling Erza to the ground in an affectionate form of payback.

There was laughter from everyone as the requip mage went down.

Lucy, for the first time since she left these people over a year ago, was completely at ease. Fallen Star was lurking, Peregrande was likely less than happy with her, Natsu was still out there somewhere confused and hurt, and she still had more on her plate than she had ever had before, but... She finally, _finally _took a deep, unburdened breath and allowed herself this one moment of carefree happiness. Her brightest smile, one no one had seen since before Tartaros, lit her face as she reunited with her family.

"How did you all find out you were coming to meet me?" she asked incredulously, looking at Cris for answers from the middle of the most recent dogpile.

"Funny you should ask…"

* * *

*Flashback*

"Nice to meet you all. What information do you have on the dark guild in question?" Erza asked the three White Sea mages in front of her.

She stood next to Jellal, Wendy, and Gray, all of whom were listening intently. Master and Laxus had informed them that Team Natsu had been requested to take out a dark guild that had proven challenging. They'd not been given any information beyond that, and they were eager to hear details.

"We can explain in Bosco-" Cris was cut off by an irritated Freed Justine.

"You're here for Miss Lucy, aren't you?"

Van raised an eyebrow and Emzadi frowned, while Cristoff just sighed, "Freed. What are you doing here?"

"Better question is, Cristoff Randevere Pradesh, is what are _you _doing here? Do you know where Lucy is?"

Vander chimed in, "Evergreen, how lovely you look tonight. Still with that lucky bastard, Elfman."

She frowned at him, "That's none of your business. Are you going to answer our questions?"

"I don't know what you're talking about, Freed-" Cristoff was cut off by the fear for his life, as the tip of a sword found its way to his throat.

Emzadi growled, and Vander turned serious, but neither made a move as Erza Scarlet spoke, "I would suggest you start talking plainly. What information do you have on Lucy Heartfilia?"

Jellal put a calming hand on her shoulder, and physically reached across to lower her weapon for her, "I'm sure they will tell us what they know, Erza. Threats against our allies won't get us anywhere."

"R-right… Sorry."

Emzadi was the one who finally answered, "I'll tell you what, why don't you tell us what _you _know, and we will go from there."

"I find this acceptable…" Erza said after a long moment.

Gray was hesitant, but when Wendy looked up at him expectantly he spoke up, "Shit. Fine. Lucy left here last year because that guild that attacked was after her, and she didn't want them using Fairy Tail as leverage. But I swear, I don't know anything else, so don't even think you can use me to find her," he glared at the group from Bosco.

Erza spoke up next, looking at Gray with confused eyes. She hadn't known he was aware of the situation, "Jellal and I found out from Crime Sorciere that she'd last been spotted in Iceberg, and that she was trying to track down Fallen Star, the same guild that attacked us last year. From what I'd heard, she'd had little success."

Freed spoke up next, looking smug. He loved when he had the most up-to-date information, "I know that Lucy went to Peregrande to save Zen Pradesh from the Gladiator Pits at Sky's Reach, along with Cobra of Crime Sorciere, and that she's been under the protection of White Sea and Arman Pradesh for the last several days. What I don't know, is why we aren't on our way to see her yet."

All three mages from Bosco just looked at them. "Well, I guess Lucy doesn't have to worry about what to tell them, anymore," Van stated lazily, grabbing up Freed and Evergreen and flashing back to Bosco through the voids.

"Shit. Fine. Guess there's no reason to sit around here," Emzadi stated, walking up to Erza and Jellal. She clapped them on the shoulders and disappeared into a bright light.

Cristoff just rubbed his temples, "Well? You two coming or what?" he said to Gray and Wendy, who immediately approached him. He put a hand on each shoulder and they were off.

*End Flashback*

* * *

Once they'd all settled down, Gray and Erza split off with Lucy as they walked in the house.

"Fuck, Lucy," Gray teased, "What did you do, lift mountains for a year?" he asked her lightly, rubbing at the bruises on his upper arms.

The old Lucy would have looked sheepish, and softly apologized. New Lucy, the one she'd embraced fully once everyone finally got enough of squeezing each other tightly, just smiled wryly, "Not whole mountains, but maybe that should be my next challenge?"

Gray and Erza smiled at her, seeing a confidence in her they'd always known existed somewhere deep down, but they'd never really gotten to see (well, unless she was pissed off).

"You'll allow me to join you, I hope?"

Lucy slapped Erza's shoulder… harder than she needed to. What? She'd worked hard… If she wanted a little casual payback, she was going to get it.

"In all seriousness, Gildarts was a fucking terrifying instructor. But I _am_ glad…" she trailed off, looking out over the Grass Sea. They were seated at a small side table, Jellal next to Erza and Gray and Lucy sitting in the two remaining chairs, on the back deck of the Pradesh family home.

"You're glad…?" Gray prompted when she didn't continue.

"I'm glad I was able to do what I always wanted to."

"What's that, Lucy?" Erza asked her curiously.

"Make you both proud. Hopefully, Natsu will be proud too, when I track him down."

* * *

"Lucy."

At the sound of Erza's voice, Gray decided it was time to get out of there. Lucy sighed, standing up and beckoning the requip mage to join her as she went to the beach.

When they got there, after several minutes of uncomfortable silence, Lucy spoke.

"You want to talk about it?"

Erza nodded, "I… am sorry, Lucy."

Lucy just looked at her incredulously. Was she missing something…? "Huh?"

The requip mage apologized again, "I am sorry. Will you forgive me?"

"What? What in the world are you talking about? Shouldn't I be the one apologizing?"

With a head shake, "No. You were doing what you thought was right, to protect us."

The celestial mage approached her long-time friend and role model, "...Erza. Why are you apologizing?" she asked, placing a gentle hand on her shoulder.

Erza looked up from her downcast expression, and blinked, "For believing you, of course," she said, as if apologizing for _being lied to_ was any sort of normal, "I would insist you hit me for my lack of loyalty and faith in you, but…" he expression turned proud and she shot Lucy a grin, "I fear that it may actually hurt if you did so."

Shaking her head, Lucy gave her a grin back, "Erza, you can't apologize for believing lies I told you myself. That's just… ridiculous. We're okay, then?"

Sighing, Erza agreed reluctantly, "If you feel that way…"

"I do," Lucy giggled, then, "And do you mean to tell me that you always used to ask us for punishment for your actions because it didn't hurt?"

Erza got a gleam in her eye, and smiled triumphantly, "Of course not, Lucy. I asked you all to hit me because I knew you never would."

Both women chuckled as they made their way back into the estate.

* * *

The rest of the day Lucy spent catching up with her friends and family, allowing herself to forget about everything that was still ahead.

Once she and Erza had returned, she was whisked away by a very disappointed Freed. Who proceeded to lecture her. Though, it had nothing to do with her running off. He was more concerned with the fact that she'd found an entirely new way to contract with her spirits, and she'd never even called him to let him know, when she _knew_ how fascinated he was with her magic.

She fought against rolling her eyes the whole time. If this was how he was processing everything, she would let him. Besides, she had missed him immensely.

When he'd finally finished ranting, she called for Virgo through the bond, who appeared with a worn journal in her hands before disappearing once more.

Freed stared at the leatherbound notebook in her hands, his own hands twitching, as if he was fighting snatching it from her grip. She smiled, and held the book in front of her so he could take it.

"What is this…? Miss Lucy?"

"I didn't forget about you, Freed. I've been cataloguing everything I can about my magic as I've learned more about it. This, it isn't everything, but it's everything I can share without putting the celestial realm at risk."

Freed's eyes lit up, and he nearly ran from the room before she stopped him, "Oh, and Freed?"

He looked back at her, though she could tell he was impatient about reading the book she'd given him.

"I've spoken to the King. The Starbringer, it's a title that has always existed but has very rarely been filled. I need to do extensive research to figure out all the things I am expected to do as a result, and the King agreed. If you help me compile that so I can perform my duties, he will allow me to discuss the full extent of my magic with you. You can't share it, or even write it all down, but you can learn everything."

The rune mage looked on the edge of passing out, but he turned back to Lucy and crushed her in a shockingly strong hug, "Oh, that is wonderful. I'll get to researching right away! Starting with this!" he held up her journal.

She nodded, shooing him away, but not before making him promise to eat and drink while he was researching.

The door to the den had barely closed behind him, before it was pushed open again, this time by Evergreen.

"You know very well he will eat only what someone shoves in his face," she told her, looking amused.

Lucy stretched, then turned to the side to lay out on the couch, "I know. I will ask Mr. Elan to make sure he doesn't die of malnutrition."

"Good call," the fairy mage conceded, making her way to the couch.

She raised a delicate eyebrow at Lucy, who lifted her feet to allow her on the couch, and lowered them once she was settled. Evergreen put a hand on her shin, seemingly deep in thought, but didn't speak.

"What's on your mind, Ever?"

Pulled from her thoughts, Evergreen's eyes flicked to Lucy's, "I missed you."

Lucy's features softened, "I missed you too. I am surprised you're not mad, though…"

"Oh," the fairy mage's features darkened, "I'm mad. I just can't blame you for lying to protect us. Maybe some of the others can, but I know Laxus. That man's unstoppable, especially when it comes to you. If the guild that attacked us managed to do that to you," She gestured toward the guildmark-covered scar on Lucy's exposed abdomen, then to her face, "and got away from Laxus after? I could see why you were scared of them enough to leave."

Lucy nodded slowly, "I wasn't scared for me, Ever. I was scared for you. All of you. You know that, right?"

The brunette rolled her eyes, "Of course I do. I know you, too. That's why I'm dealing with it, even if I'm mad."

"...I… appreciate that."

"You'd better," she scoffed, pinching Lucy's skin.

They lounged in their spots, just getting comfortable with each other again, for another hour. Lucy would be lying if she said it wasn't nice. She felt… at peace. It was unfamiliar, but not unwelcome, feeling for the celestial mage.

'_That is because you finally stopped second-guessing yourself, Princess.'_

'_You may be right, Loke.'_

'_No… it is because you have achieved balance. Don't let the lion confuse you, Princess."_

'_I have… achieved balance in what, LIbra?'_

The spirit of heavenly scales did not answer, and Lucy chuckled.

Evergreen inched away from her dramatically, "If you're going to start listening to the voices in your head, Lu, I'm out…"

Lucy laughed harder, "Just my spirits, Ever," she managed to get out between guffaws. Ever smiled. She hadn't seen Lucy so bright in years, and the sight made her happy, despite her inner frustrations.

Adopting her most haughty sneer, she stood up and looked down at the girl, "Right. I'm sure that's it."

She barely got it out before she was giggling as well.

"Come on, let's go get some food, you mental case." Ever suggested, hauling a giggling Lucy to her feet.

In the kitchen, Mr. Elan happily agreed to ensure Freed ate. Apparently this wasn't the Thunder Legion's first visit to the Pradesh household, so he was used to it.

Lucy had been very intrigued when she first found out that Bixslow was the son of Arman Pradesh, a man she'd always admired. She had wanted to scold him for not telling her sooner, but… she hadn't exactly been in a position to complain.

"Ah, okay. Thank you!" Lucy told the chef, leaving Ever in the kitchen to figure out the next person she was going to catch up with.

That next person found her about ten minutes later.

"Your friends are a lively bunch," Zen spoke up from behind her. Lucy had made her way to the beach once more, and was again playing with Aquarius's magic. She'd found the action soothing, and doing it with the waters of the sea, she had found, always left her feeling refreshed. She'd been doing it more often than ever.

"Zen," she said with a smile, "How are you feeling?"

He sat down, just out of reach of the waves, and draped his arms over his spread knees, "Things are… different. But it's been amazing. These people, my family, they are… more than I'd ever hoped they'd be…" he trailed off, lost in thought.

She splashed him lightly, smiling, "Hey, come back here," she said, referring to his wandering thoughts.

He seemed to understand, and gave her a smile of his own, "Sorry. It's just, sometimes it feels _too good. _Like this is some dream I'm having in my cell back in Peregrande."

Lucy laughed, "No offense, but you aren't creative enough to dream up someone like Vander. I think you're safe," she pointed out.

Zen chuckled, "I guess you're right."

Lucy allowed the water she was manipulating to fall gently back to the sea, and moved to sit next to him, "Besides," she continued, "What kind of dream would it be if you didn't get to behead the King yourself?"

Despite himself, he smirked at her, "Oh, I don't know. Watching a beautiful, avenging, golden Goddess take on an entire nation with ease, and then lop off the head of your biggest tormentor while he trembled with fear? That's not so bad."

Lucy blushed and he bumped his shoulder against hers, "Thank you for all that, by the way."

Lucy just nodded, and Zen stood up at her side, "Your friends have come to steal you away again," he gestured toward the blue-haired heavenly body mage making his way down the beach, "Guess that's my cue. Kaleb wanted to talk to me anyway."

"Oh, right. I'll, uh, I'll see you at dinner?"

He nodded, then summoned his wings and flew off, heading in the direction to the clearing East of the house that the siblings apparently use for training when they were home.

Lucy waived at Jellal, but didn't move, figuring the beach was as good a place as any to have their conversation. She wasn't sure how it would go, because he was usually a very forgiving person, but… Erza was the one who'd gotten hurt in all of it. People didn't hurt Erza without Jellal being… very upset.

"Lucy, can I speak with you a moment?"

The celestial mage rolled her eyes, "Sure, if you stop acting like a stick in the mud…" she muttered.

He chuckled and plopped himself down in the sand, where Zen had been moments before.

"I just wanted to say… there's nothing we really need to discuss."

She looked at him with a raised eyebrow, "What?"

He sighed, "I know you expected me to come find you, confront you about everything that happened or something, so here I am. But really, I just wanted to tell you that there's nothing you need to explain to me. I understand, and I'm not mad, and we are still friends. Agreed?"

"..."

Jellal looked at her in question, "...agreed?"

"...Yeah, I suppose," she narrowed her eyes at him, "that was surprisingly easy. From you and Erza both… Fuck. Did Meredy tell you?"

He laughed, "If it makes you feel better, she tried not to. She really did. She held out for like... three minutes at least."

Lucy considered this, "Three minutes… Stars, why did I ever tell her?"

Jellal shrugged, "You needed her help. It _is _okay to ask for help, you know."

"Yeah, yeah."

"You have a line forming."

Lucy turned to look and saw that… he wasn't wrong. Wendy was fidgeting, standing a few yards away, waiting her turn to speak with Lucy. Gray was standing a few feet behind her, leaning on a boulder, and behind him was Vander. For probably no reason other than to make it look like an actual line.

The celestial mage rubbed her temples, "Sorry, Mr. Fernandez. Looks like our time is up, I've got another appointment."

He laughed and stood, ruffling her hair, "It's really good to see you, Lucy."

Her sarcastic smile turning genuine, she nodded, "Right back at ya, Blueberry."

"I don't know why I ever thought it was a good thing that Cobra was with you…" he muttered, walking back to the house as Wendy walked up to Lucy. Gray moved to stand where Wendy had been. Vander moved to take Gray's exact position against the boulder. Lucy would have screamed at Van to go away, but before she did, Aries materialized in the same spot Vander had been standing, mumbling a shy apology.

Dragging her hand over her face, Lucy had to wonder why she'd ever thought Aries friendship with Ophiuchus was a good thing. Through her bond, she heard Ophiuchus laughing triumphantly.

"Wendy," she greeted her youngest kin, "I suppose you want to talk…?"

The sky dragon slayer didn't respond, only walked closer and hovered her hands over Lucy's seated frame and activated her magic.

"You seem to be doing okay…"

"Yes, Wendy, I'm fine. Are you alright?"

The blue-haired girl sat right in front of her and gave her a small smile, "I am now. The strained bond was pretty annoying, but it's all fixed up now!"

Lucy placed a hand on her head, "I am sorry you were hurting Wendy. I felt it too."

Wendy waived her off, "If I learned anything from you, Lucy, it's that people deserve forgiveness. Especially people who were just trying to do the right thing. I only came to talk to you because I missed you, and I wanted to check on you."

"I'm really proud of you, you know that, right?" Lucy said, looking at her kin with a bright smile.

"I've always known that, Lu."

Wendy stood, "I think Gray's going to be grumpy if he doesn't get to talk to you soon," she squeezed Lucy into a hug, "And your line is getting longer," she finished with a wink as she skipped away.

And sure enough, she was right. Van must have void-hopped all over the house, because he had somehow convinced Cris, Emzadi, and Xally (she _knew _that water mage had a devious streak) to come stand in a line with him. If that weren't enough, Libra, Virgo, Loke, and… Ophiuchus had all joined as well. Yes, Ophiuchus, as in… giant purple snake.

Lucy was starting to regret getting strong enough that now all her zodiacs could summon themselves…

"Hey Lucy, can I talk to you for a bit?"

Lucy turned her attention back to Gray, who had made his way over to her, "Gray!" she gave him a smile, "Of course. Let's just… do it somewhere else…"

He looked to where she tilted her head and rolled his eyes, "Yeah, let's do that."

They began walking away, only for the 'line' to follow step for step. They made it about fifty yards down the beach before Lucy gave up.

"Well, looks like we aren't getting rid of them. What's up?"

"Just wanted to catch up, really. I, uh… I'm glad you're alive. You had me really terrified, you know?"

Lucy looked at him sadly, "I know. Sorry about that. But enough about me, how are you? Bix told me you went off training? Did you ever confess to Juvia?"

Looking the other way, Gray responded, "I took Juvia with me… and yeah… I told her…"

"...What? You told her? What happened? Where is she? How long have you been together? How-"

Gray clamped a hand over her mouth, "Lucy, chill out. If I take my hand away are you going to be calm?" He asked her, giving her a stern look.

She nodded quickly, saying something past his hand that was muffled, but sounded like "Yes, sir!"

He pulled his hand away warily, and Lucy gave him a raised eyebrow. "So…?"

"We aren't together-"

"What?!-"

"Lucy, calm down," he gave her an exasperated look, and she bit her lip to keep herself from speaking, "We dated for a while, but we both realized that it was weird. Juvia still loves me, but when we actually started getting closer, we both realized that it just wasn't… right. You know?"

"Oh…" her face fell a little, "You're okay?"

"Yeah, Lu. I'm good," he said, ruffling her hair. She grumbled a little and pulled him down in a headlock so she could ruffle his hair, too. Just… a little less gently, "Everyone keeps ruffling my hair like that and Cancer is gonna kill me," she complained, ignoring Gray's attempts to get free.

Finally, she released him, and he glowered at her while trying to fix his mussed hair. Lucy laughed, "It's good to have you with me, Gray."

"Yeah," he said, giving up on his hair, but giving her a cool smile, "I did manage to master my dad's magic, though. Now I can kick some dark guild ass with you, no problem."

Lucy gave him a sad smile, "It was never about you not being strong enough, Gray. You know that, right?"

He didn't answer.

"You know that, right…?" she repeated slowly.

He shook his head, "If I'd been stronger we could have gone after them together. Or you would have asked me to go with you to train. You don't have to spare my feelings, Lucy, it's fine."

She punched him in the arm, but then pulled him in for a hug, "No, dumbass. It wasn't about _you _not being strong enough, it was about _me _not being strong enough."

She held him tighter, "I'm glad you got stronger, really, I am. You needed to find a way to control your dad's magic, we both know that, but you not coming with me had nothing to do with you."

He hugged her back and sighed, "...alright…"

Pulling away from him, she grinned, "Now, are you ready to kick some ass? Because starting tomorrow, we are tracking those bastards down. We'll teach them what happens when you mess with Fairies."

"I'm with you, Lucy," He grinned.

Various shouts and cheers were heard from the 'line of jokesters' after that, and she glared at them. Only to find that every one of her zodiacs had joined them. Even Capricorn.

"My life is crazy as hell."

"Got that right, Tink!" Erik yelled at her from his spot next to Vander.

The shadowquip climbed to the top of the rock, "Alright everybody, joke's over. You're dismissed!" he laughed, but the wicked gleam in his eye told Lucy he wasn't quite done.

Gray left as her spirits disappeared, and joined the various Pradesh family members as they laughed and joked while making their way inside. Lucy and Vander didn't move though.

"What are you planning…" Lucy asked him, regarding him suspiciously.

"Oh, nothing major, Mia Stella. I did have a present for you, though. Stay right here while I get it for you…?"

"I'm not so sure about that…"

"Oh, _relax," _he said, disappearing into shadow and reappearing behind her, rubbing her shoulders. She hated to admit it, but he was very good at that… She only melted into him a _little. _

"I'd never do anything that would ruin my chances at taking you, little star. Never," he whispered the last word in her ear, and though she'd never admit it, she got goosebumps.

"Right!" he exclaimed excitedly, "So, you stay here, and I'll be right back with your present. Promise me?"

Cautiously, she nodded, "Alright… fine. I promise. But you better not be fucking with me."

He scoffed, turning her around so she could see his affronted expression as he held a hand over his heart, "Me? Why I'd never…"

He disappeared into the voids without a second's hesitation.

Lucy paced back and forth on the beach for what felt like forever, waiting for him to return. She'd cursed his name for the first ten minutes, but then spent the next fifteen just playing with the water as she watched the sun set over it. She was about to send a spirit to the house and have someone track Vander down when suddenly, he returned, appearing not ten feet to her left.

And he wasn't alone.

And apparently, this 'present' was a person. A flaming person, who's shocking pink hair was longer than it should have been, and his face more serious than it should have been, and putting off a heat more intense than she had ever known it to be.

A blue cat escaped from Van's grip, and before he received any sort of retaliation, Van winked at Lucy's stunned form and disappeared.

The fire burned hotter, and Lucy did the only thing she could think of in that moment. She doused him in water from the Grass Sea.

Slowly, he turned to face her, still steaming (literally), and his angry glare turned into a pained look of confusion, "...Luce?"

"...Natsu…?"

"LUSHIE!"


	40. Chapter 40

**Dear Readers,**

**I am so glad you've all liked it so far. Here's the next, but seriously, this time it _will _be a few days. I need time to rest... lol**

**Quick reminders: Desna owns the Pradesh Family, Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail.**

**Everyone give a shout out to my wonderful beta, GoddessxNyte2, for her constant and valuable input and effort into this story. It wouldn't be the same without her.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

"Ow, ow, ow… damn it, that guy…"

"What's wrong, Van?" Cris called to his brother as he made his way to the couch, and the shadowquip seated on it waving his hands in front of him.

"Oh, just got burned a little, is all. My amazing, dragon-y brother feeling up to a little healing?" he asked him with a raised eyebrow.

Cris rolled his eyes, but went to heal him anyway, "This isn't a little, Van," he said, examining the scorched and blistered fingers, "Mr. Elan doesn't even let you in the kitchen. How'd you manage this? Did you jump hands-first into a volcano?"

Vander shrugged. It wasn't exactly what he'd done, but it was close enough. He imagined the damage would be similar.

Cris eyed him warily, "Did you piss off Emzadi again?"

Vander snorted, shaking his head, "No. Not that dragon slayer."

"...Cobra deals with poison, not fire… Fire… Dragon Slayer… Oh fuck, Van, tell me you didn't."

Feeling better now that Cris's magic was working on his scorched hands, he leaned back and smirked proudly, "Tell you I didn't what…?"

Cristoff stopped his magic and glared at his devious little brother, "Tell me you didn't go off and find the one dragon slayer on Earthland known for his wanton destruction. Tell me you didn't _bring him here, _to the same location where his former best friend and supposed 'betrayer' is currently staying, without explanation. Tell me you didn't leave her alone, out on the beach, with said dragon slayer to defend herself from his _literal_ fiery rage?"

Vander pouted at the lack of healing magic, but responded, "I would be lying if I denied sentence one. Or… sentence two. But, I definitely did not do sentence three."

Thinking back, he confirmed, "So you didn't leave her alone with him on the beach?"

Smiling, he answered, "Nope! There was a little blue cat, too. It had wings."

"Shit. KALEB!"

* * *

"LUSHIE!"

Happy, surprisingly, was the first to act. He threw himself into her arms so hard that if she'd spent any less time training, she'd probably be on her ass. As it was, she stumbled back a step as the blue fur ball buried his crying face into her cleavage.

Unable to help herself, she held him tightly, and rubbed at his little blue head. She never took her gaze off of Natsu though, and as she watched his look of confusion quickly morphed into anger.

"What are you doing here? Hell, what am _I _doing here? Where is here?"

"Uh, well…" she rubbed the back of her neck, but realized it was an expression she'd learned from him, and quickly stopped herself, "I, umm, well. I'm not sure why you're here. I mean… I know why but I didn't think Van would just go find you… And that little shit is gonna pay, by the way, but I do need to-"

"Lucy, shut up."

She stopped abruptly, and looked up at him with a saddened gaze. _Lucy. _He was still mad.

Not that she could blame him.

Happy noticed the tension, and looked up into her face in question, "Lushie…?"

"Go on, Happy. Go stand next to Natsu, for a bit. I think he'd feel more comfortable if you did."

Sniffling, the blue cat looked over his shoulder to the angered fire mage, "Yeah… okay."

He floated slowly back toward his partner and landed on his shoulder, putting a little blue paw on top of his longer pink hair.

"So…"

"Where are we?"

Sighing, she answered, "Bosco."

One word answers were probably best, for now. She was surprised the flames hadn't returned, to be honest. After what she'd said to him….

"Where in Bosco?"

"Just outside Palerno."

"...Why?"

She looked at him. His eyes held a sadness and vulnerability in them that she'd not expect from a question as innocent as 'why were they in Bosco'.

"I… wanted to see you, and explain, and I guess Vander took it upon himself to find you…"

"No."

"No?" Lucy was confused. She'd not asked a question. What was he talking about?

"No, that wasn't my question, _Lucy."_

Lucy reminded herself of her earlier conviction to not apologize for her decision. To move forward. To be true to the person she'd become over the last year.

Speaking up a little more strongly, she asked him, "What _was _the question, then, _Natsu?"_

"Why…" he crossed his arms over his chest in an almost defensive manner, "Why did you _lie _to me, Lucy?"

She flinched at the pain in his voice, "I have to tell you about that, actually…" she said in a small voice, "I… was never in Fallen Star, I just-"

"Save it, Lucy, I already know."

She gave him a curious look, but did as he said and stopped speaking.

"I want to know why you lied to me, one year, two months, and six days ago. You sat in Fairy Tail's infirmary and lied to my face. Do you have any idea how confused I was, how badly that hurt? I want to know. _Why?_"

Lucy crossed her own arms, and sat down on the sand with a heavy sigh, looking out over the sunset reflecting on the Grass Sea, "I thought it was the only way."

"The only way for what?" he asked her bitterly, sitting as well, but far from her. Happy sat somewhere in the middle, looking between his two friends sadly.

"To protect you."

"From who? Those stupid bastards who attacked the guild? Are you saying I wasn't strong enough to help you?"

"Yes," she stated evenly, looking him directly in the eyes, "I'm saying you weren't strong enough to defeat them. I'm sorry, but that's true. And you know it as well as I do."

Fire danced in his eyes, but he didn't challenge her on the assessment, "So, what, you were?"

"No."

He just looked at her, confused.

She sighed again and grabbed a fistful of sand, "I wasn't strong enough either. None of us were. That's why I left, why I lied to you, to everyone. I was scared, terrified that if you knew all that they had done to me, and that they were still after me, you'd chase after them and die fighting my battles for me."

She watched as the sand trickled through her fingers, and waited for his reply, "Your battles were my battles, Luce. We were a team."

She let the last of the granules fall from her hand, and looked over at him sadly, "That's the thing, Natsu. We were. But… You never let your battles be my battles. You took your battles on your own, and then piled mine on top. Eventually, it would have killed you. At some point, I had to grow the fuck up and take care of myself."

He frowned, "That's because I could handle it."

"And so can I," Lucy answered, "Well, I can now."

Natsu seemed to think that over, and after a long moment, he spoke quietly. She almost didn't hear him, "I was scared of losing you, you know. When you were gone. And I'd have broken my promise."

She furrowed her brows, "What promise?"

He summoned flame in his hand and tossed it around, distracting himself, but he answered her, "To Future Lucy."

Lucy paled. "Natsu…"

"I… don't think I could live with myself. If I failed. If I didn't protect your future."

She stood up, scooped up Happy, and walked over to him, sitting next to him. She carefully placed her head on his shoulder, gripping his bandaged arm tightly with one hand and a loose hold on happy with the other, "Natsu, you don't have to be bound by that promise anymore. That's not a burden I want for you. I'm responsible for so much more now, you can't fight everything for me. And I don't want you to. Do you understand?"

He didn't answer, instead he put a hand on her knee and squeezed lightly. As if assuring himself she was there.

"I… I loved you, you know," he said quietly.

Lucy didn't answer. She'd loved him too, once, but she knew he didn't need to hear her say it. She'd always known him well enough to know what he was thinking, and that hadn't gone away. And she knew he wasn't done talking.

"You aren't my mate. I knew that. I've always known that, but… I couldn't bring myself to claim you as kin. To give up the chance to be with you, because fuck if I didn't love you anyway. Now… things are different."

"I know. I… betrayed your trust. For whatever reason, good or bad, that won't change. I'm sorry I hurt you, Natsu, but… you think we can be friends again?"

He turned to her, and gave her a toothy grin. It was a few degrees dimmer than she was used to, but it gave her hope nonetheless, "I think we can, do you?"

She smiled back at him, "Yeah, and good thing too."

"Huh? Why?"

"Well, everyone's here and we are tracking down that guild. Gonna teach them a lesson. You in?"

He hopped up immediately, snatching Happy from her and dancing around with him, "Oh yeah, I'm all fired up. How 'bout you, Happy?"

"Aye, sir!"

Lucy watched the pair in front of her nostalgically.

'_Everything okay out there?'_ Kaleb's voice sounded in her head, '_I heard Van's done his stupid thing for the day, and you're the victim.'_

'_Yeah, all good here. Thanks for checking. Oh, and can you tell Van something for me?"_

'_I can. Cris is withholding healing until you come back inside safe, so I doubt he's going anywhere.'_

Lucy snorted. Thankfully, Natsu didn't notice, '_Tell him to watch his back, his ass is mine for dumping this on me.'_

Inside, Kaleb shivered. He could see some of the ideas rolling through her head, and the moment her snake spirit joined in, he got out of there as quickly as possible.

'_I'll tell him,' _he informed her, before making a quick retreat from her twisted thoughts.

Back on the beach, Lucy smiled, calling out to Natsu, "Hey, tell me something?"

"...what is it?"

"How did you know? That I lied?"

Natsu smiled at her again, "Virgo. I was out training and she found me. I was in Iceberg, I think, trying to see how much of the mountain range I could thaw."

Lucy laid back in the sand. She remembered when Virgo asked to go to Iceberg, when they had first started moving and she got good enough at remote gate opening that she could direct them better. That sneaky little maid.

'_Punishment, Princess…?'_

'_No, Virgo,' _Lucy sighed, physically and mentally, '_In this case, I think I owe you one.'_

'_Are you sure I don't need punishment…?'_

'_...Fine. Later. Okay?'_

'_Thank you, Princess!'_

Lucy closed off the bond to protect herself from the excited squealing.

"Hey, Luce…?"

"Hmmm?"

"I did have a couple conditions for helping you out…"

She sat up, "...what's that?"

He ran over and sat down in front of her, holding out his hand as if for some kind of high five, "The Kin bond… I never claimed you before, but now… I think we should. Will you…?"

Smiling, Lucy accepted, "I would like that," she said, placing her hand on his. It wasn't necessary, it was their souls connecting, but Natsu was very tactile.

She felt a warmth in her soul, and she smiled as she felt the bond established.

Natsu looked at her somewhat sadly, but smiled back.

"What's the second thing?"

"Oh! That's easy! Fight me!"


	41. Chapter 41

**Dear Readers,**

**If you've never read an author's note here before, read this one!**

...

...

...

**Okay now that I have your attention, let's continue. **

**Firstly, sorry it took so long for this chapter. I had some thoughts I had to flesh out to make sure we were heading in the right direction. On that note, a huge shout out to both RoguexNyte (my lovely beta), as well as Redfoxed, for their input and suggestions so I could word-vomit my way through some of the finer details of what is to come. **

**On the note of Redfoxed... And you should pay attention to this part specifically...**

**Because this is shameless promotion. Redfoxed stories are seriously fucking good. If you haven't read them, stop what you are doing, don't even read this chapter yet, and go look. She's amazing. I jumped in as a beta for one of her stories and I have to say working with her is amazing.**

**The second point to that, and the most exciting, is this:**

**WE ARE DOING A COLLAB PIECE. And it is awesome, so you need to go check it out. It is on her page here on ffnet, mine if you do the Archive/AO3 thing, and it's called:**

**Honest to Mavis, 'Best' 'Friends'**

**It follows Lucy and Bickslow through a newfound friendship once their other teams drifted apart. If that weren't enough, we post snippets of our honest to Mavis crazy ass conversations as "Behind the Scenes Dramatics" after each chapter, and I, for one, think we are hilarious.**

**Shameless self-promotion over, a quick note about CtFS: Expect a slight dip in my frequency of posting over the next week or so. Sorry. We are coming into some chapters I'm going to struggle writing, so please, continue to have patience while I make sure to perfect it.**

**DISCLAIMER: Desna is a genius, and owns the Pradesh Family and the Boscan Culture along with them. Hiro Mashima is a genius and owns everything else.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

"Wait… are you serious?"

Natsu tilted his head, "Yeah…? We've both been training for forever, I want to see how strong you are!"

Lucy rubbed her temples, "...tomorrow, then," she agreed, hiding the fact that despite herself, she was getting a little excited. She'd always dreamed of being able to compete with Natsu. She just hoped she would be strong enough to challenge him.

Fighting off the lingering doubt, she steeled herself and faced him, "You're sure about this?"

"Hell yeah!"

"Alright," she confirmed, "Let's go inside, though. It's getting late and I need to eat."

"...You have food?"

The excitement in his eyes brought back all her nostalgic feelings, and she threw an arm over his shoulders, even if he was significantly taller than her now, "Let me introduce you to Mr. Elan." she said fondly, directing him toward the house.

* * *

"I have to say, I'm rather surprised," Kaleb admitted, gesturing toward the fire dragon slayer that was eating like a pig a few feet away from them, totally tuned out to the world around him. Kaleb would know, he could _see _the sheer amount of focus the man had on his food.

Lucy giggled, observing the scene with her head propped on her chin, "Surprised about what?"

He physically moved into her line of sight, just so she could see him raise an eyebrow at her.

"...what?" she asked, a small smile pulling at her lips.

"That _he_," he gestured toward Natsu again, "Is your best friend. The differences in how your minds work is… baffling. I'm a little surprised you can stand him."

Lucy glared, "What's that supposed to mean?"

The mindbender raised his hands in a surrendering motion, closing himself off from her head. She had gotten good at creating enough noise and feedback from her soul bonds that it actually physically hurt him if he tried to pay too close attention. And she knew it, too.

"Don't misunderstand," he said quickly, "I find him to be deceivingly intelligent, his mind just works more simplistically than most, whereas yours is infinitely complex. It's interesting, is that you get along so well despite that."

Lucy eyed him critically, and finding no lie in his words, shrugged, "Oh, well I guess I do see your point. To be honest… we don't get along all that well most of the time," she chuckled, "He drives me insane. But he's still the best friend I've ever had. He'll always be there for me, even now, after everything."

And Kaleb… could see that. The fire slayer had a streak of loyalty in him so deeply set that the mindbender wasn't sure he'd ever seen anything like it before. A loyalty that applied doubly-so to Lucy and Happy - and to Gray, Erza, Jellal, and Wendy to an only slightly lesser extent. And the one thing he could see that both Lucy and Natsu had in common was a fierce and unwavering determination, more so than even their teammates. He could see why that would bring them closer, he supposed.

"Not all friendships have to make sense, bro." Bickslow stated, walking up to the two mages leaning against the counter and slapping his brother's back, "And, seriously, not everything is some school subject to study."

Kaleb grumbled as his brother shot him a tongue-lolling smile. Lucy giggled, she loved it when people teased Kaleb. The much-too-serious set to his shoulders spoke to how much he could use a good joke at his expense.

He glared at her, and her giggle turned into a full-on laugh, as she let her thoughts run rampant thinking through how he would react to certain situations.

Kaleb at the beach, arms crossed and brows furrowed as everyone had fun around him.

Kaleb performing in a circus, face expressionless and glaring at everyone who thought something rude about his knife-throwing act (which, in her head, was very unsuccessful).

Kaleb in bed, frowning at the woman underneath him, reading her thoughts and judging her the whole time.

'_Okay, that last one was too far.'_

Lucy smirked at him, "Hey, I just call it as I see it, Mr. I-take-myself-too-seriously."

'_I'm still Boscan, Lucy, and I can assure you… my magical talents are most definitely put to use in only the best of ways when engaged in pleasurable activities.'_

The images quite literally shoved into her mind had her blushing like crazy.

Erik shouted from the other room, "Hey! You'd better stop that, Tink is gonna explode if you keep it up. Her innocent mind can't take it!"

"She can take it, I'll be gentle," Vander spoke in Lucy's ear, having stepped from the voids to stand directly behind her.

Zen walked in and frowned at his brothers, but said nothing.

Both Loke and Capricorn summoned themselves to her side moments later, the former eyeing Kaleb while the latter gazed sternly at Vander, "We would appreciate it if you could desist, at least until Lucy cuts off the magic to her bonds. Your… teasing is becoming quite uncomfortable for several of us," Capricorn advised.

Lucy, despite being a shade of red she'd never achieved before, started laughing. Kaleb looked into her mind to find the reason, only to discover that the conversation going on in her head between Virgo, Aries, and Libra was getting a bit… inappropriate. Even for a Boscan.

"I don't think it's us corrupting her innocent mind, Cobra," he stated in a deadpan.

Said mage focused harder, then blanched, "Fucking hell, Bright Eyes, nobody needs to know that much about Virgo…"

Lucy laughed harder, embarrassment forgotten, and Natsu chose that moment to enter into the conversation, having no clue what anyone was speaking of besides hearing Virgo's name, "Man, Virgo's awesome. She always lets me stuff myself…" before promptly falling asleep in his chair.

The entire family laughed at that, as Kaleb shared the moment through the family link, adding all the house guests as well.

"He means with food! Virgo cooks!" Lucy shouted helplessly.

* * *

"Are you sure about that, Luce?" Natsu asked her seriously, and it only pissed her off.

Kaleb, Zen, and Cobra took steps back away from the make-shift training area, the former and latter based on her thoughts and soul, Zen because he'd spent enough time observing the woman to understand the subtle tilt to her mouth that meant she was pissed. She'd sported it when she got payback for Van's little stunt only an hour ago.

"I'm sure, Natsu, don't hold back. Don't you dare," she said, glaring at him.

He just shrugged, accepting it, and moved into a ready stance. Lucy did the same.

Kaleb stepped out between them - reluctantly - and called the start to the match before making his way quickly back outside Freed's runes.

Shocking absolutely no one, Natsu made the first move, moving quickly to throw a punch at her gut. As she dodged left, then rolled out of the way, she came to the quick conclusion that Natsu had grown in his magic just as she had.

She adjusted her strategy, and thanks to her bonds, that strategy was communicated instantly, and silently, to her spirits.

Caelum appeared in her hand, immediately taking the form of a small, sharp dagger. She felt his excitement in the minor vibrations in his handle. Transforming into her Cancer stardress, but with only one sword, she faced Natsu head on, wielding a longer-blade in her right hand, and the short blade of Caelum in her left, ready to strike from close or long range.

Natsu, seeming unphased by her change of clothing and weaponry, charged again. He threw a punch to her face, she dodged, then countered by striking with the dagger. It barely grazed his side, but he took no notice as he knelt down and tried kicking the feet from under her. She jumped in time, going backwards in a flip to avoid the blow.

She righted herself and faced him again, silently summoning Virgo along with Deneb, because while the swan spirit needed a whole lot more confidence, he was pretty powerful. And the bond had helped cut back on misunderstandings between spirit and keyholder, so they worked well together.

Virgo, no one could see, she was underground, but Deneb stood next to her, lighting dancing in his palms, "I guess I can help…"

Lucy tried not to laugh at him, but didn't answer out loud, instead using the bond to thwart Natsu's dragon slayer hearing. He nodded at her, and launched himself toward the dragon slayer.

He couldn't really damage him, but Deneb was fast, and Nastu couldn't hit him. The distraction was enough for Virgo to ensnare his legs, and Lucy to land a hit with the flat of Cancer's blade in a painful whack to the back of his head as she leapt over him. He shot her a glare, "No fair, Luce! You distracted me!"

Lucy giggled, "Kinda the point, Natsu," she teased. Despite her earlier frustrations with his lack of confidence, full participation in their spar, and her success, was making her giddy.

Setting fire to his whole body, Natsu burned through the earth on his lower legs, and caught a still-giggling Lucy in the arm with a powerful blast of fire. Wincing slightly, she fell back to a comfortable distance.

She dropped her Cancer stardress in favor of her Taurus one, as her now-injured arm was not required to use her whip. It snaked around her feet, before lashing at Natsu a few times. He dodged each blow, but she knew he was exerting himself to do so. Deneb and Virgo were attacking him as well, but Lucy decided that she wanted a more personal battle.

Sending her spirits back, she decided the best way to showcase her newfound skills was to fight him one on one. Could she end the fight by summoning spirit after spirit until Natsu fell at her feet? Probably. But there was some kind of satisfaction in using her own fists to prove her newfound strength to her long-time partner.

She gathered her magic, and flung her fleuve d'etoiles in his direction, shouting, "Earth Wave!"

The surrounding spectators (the entirety of the Pradesh family, team Nastu, and the Thunder Legion) all dropped their jaws at once, as the normally small and sweet celestial mage slashed at the ground and... tore it to pieces. Her attack had gone right through Freed's protective barrier under her as her magic power and her whip reigned down destruction.

"Holy shit," Vander said, clutching at his broken hand, "Remind me not to piss her off again," he winced.

A femine snort sounded to his left, and he turned to Xally laughing at his expense.

Natsu, who had been knocked on his ass, didn't stay down for long. His toothy grin showed up on his face, "LUCE! This is awesome!"

Lucy, from the other side of the 'arena' smiled victoriously, "Yeah… it is," she said fondly.

The next time he launched an attack, Lucy switched immediately into her Capricorn stardress. She wanted to meet him head to head, fist for fist, brawling the way she'd never been able to before. She wanted him to see how far she'd come.

And so they fought. For fifteen straight minutes, it was a one-on-one, all-out brawl, using fists and close combat magic alone. She'd throw a punch and hit him in the jaw, and he'd grin at her, wiping his mouth, and throw a kick at her chest. At the end of it all, despite Natsu's intense heat and extreme skill in close combat, he'd only bested her by a punch or two.

Lucy kicked him right in the face, catching him off guard and knocking him to the ground. She stood victoriously over him, "What do you say we stop playing around, hmmm?"

She had never witnessed excitement so intense on her best friend's face.

"Hell yeah, bring it on, Lucy. You're strong, but you're not stronger than me!" he declared, though she could see the pride in his eyes. Despite everything she'd put him through, he forgave her. And now, standing a few feet in front of her with his chest heaving from exertion, he gave her the one thing she'd always wanted from him. Respect. Admiration, and of more than her mental fortitude.

And she'd nearly cried when she realized she'd actually done it. She'd made him proud. She'd made them all proud.

'_Aquarius, if you could see me now…'_

'_She can, Lu. You might not be connected anymore, but she can see you. She's proud of you...' _Scorpio's voice in her mind did cause a tear to trail from her scarred eye, but she ignored it and released a massive amount of magic power, smiling like the sun. Her now-golden gaze lifted to the sky, to where the water bearer's constellation was - even if they couldn't see it in the day, Lucy knew it well - and took a deep, steadying breath.

'_This is for you, Aquarius. I'll show them my strength, like you always wanted me to.' _she spoke it directly into Scorpio's link, but she knew her words would go straight to the water spirit as if she'd spoken them in her ear.

From where they were observing, the Pradesh siblings (apart from Zen, who'd seen her in an even more glorious state) felt their jaws drop. The sheer magical power she emitted was insane, on top of what had been an impressive display of strategy and hand-to-hand combat skill. It was one thing to _know _she'd taken on Peregrande, essentially alone, apart from the spirits she'd summoned with her power. It was another thing entirely to witness the power that feat required first hand.

"Natsu," she called, smiling at him victoriously, "Oh, how wrong you are… Gemini stardress." her body flashed gold as her new stardress was summoned, but when Natsu's vision cleared, it wasn't Lucy he caught sight of. It was one Gildarts Clive.

Lucy-Gemi-Gildarts smirked, "Hey kid. Long time no see."

Natsu was confused. Very confused.

When his brain caught up with his vision, he paled. She'd said Gemini. Gemini could copy people. But… Gemini could only copy people that Lucy was either equal to or superior in strength. And… that was Gildarts. _The _Gildarts.

Had she really improved that much? It seemed impossible, but it was hard to deny it when the evidence was standing right in front of his face, looking ready to crush him into rubble.

"...damn, Lucy... That's... awesome! You're not gonna beat me, though, no way. That old man can't take me!"

Lucy-Gemi-Gildarts laughed heartily, "We'll see…"

Suddenly, from seemingly out of nowhere, a giant pink, mechanical teddy bear pinned Natsu's arms to his sides, and Lucy-Gemi-Gildarts rushed forward.

In a flash of light, Natsu burst apart into a pile of Mini-Natsu's. Dropping her stardress, and thanking Polaris before sending him back to the celestial world, Lucy smiled.

Kneeling down, she gazed curiously at the grumpy miniatures on the ground. They were all shouting 'not again' over and over, and Lucy, in that moment, understood why Gil had done this to her at least once a week when they were training.

It was… adorable. Her eyes lit up in amusement.

She pinched the cheeks of the nearest pink-headed mini-dragon, "Oh my goodness, you're so _cute_!"

His little fists caught on fire and he tried to swing at her, to no avail. It was like getting hit by a few dozen lit matchsticks.

"Oh alright. Come on. We'll go take a nap while we wait for you to reform, okay?"

The Natsu army huffed, some crossing tiny arms over tiny chests, but didn't protest. It was an offer of a nap, after all, so they just climbed onto her shoulders. A few tangled in her hair, and one brave little Natsu climbed to sit on top of her head.

Just like that, she walked out of the clearing and into the house, the yawn of several dozen Mini-Natsus sounding in her wake.

"...Um. What… the fuck… just happened?" It was Cris who'd actually asked, trying to think of how the fuck he was supposed to do to heal someone who was actually… multiple someones now, but the sentiment was shared by everyone. Apart from Erik.

"Gildarts Clive, the man rumored to be stronger than every wizard saint in Ishgar," Erik rolled his eyes, "yes - that includes you, Legolas. He uses crash magic, it divides things, and that nasty little spell divides your very essence and turns you into a mini-army of yourself. It fades on its own, eventually, but it was a particular favorite of his when he was training Tink. Guess she wanted to try it out."

"...wait. I... still have questions. How did she turn into the most powerful man in Ishgar? And you said she trained with him?" This time it was Emzadi, and the expression on her face was comically confused.

"Gemini, the twins. Lucy holds a contract with their constellation. Mischievous little shits, they can copy anyone weaker or on the same level, magically, as their keyholder."

"But," Xally added, nearly dazed, "That would mean…"

"Yeah," Erik agreed, "Bright Eyes is on par with the guy. It'd be scary as shit if she was anyone else. She didn't master this form until just before Peregrande."

Vander, realizing the situation he'd put himself in, visibly shuddered, "Kaleb…"

Looking into his brother's mind, he quickly found the issue. He sighed in exasperation, "You're on your own."

"But-"

"No," the platinum blonde glared down at his shadowy sibling, "I'm not saving you because you decided it'd be a good idea to prank - again, might I add, after she already broke your hand - the mage who took on Peregrande and won. It's not happening."

Xally walked over and patted Van's shoulder sympathetically, "Maybe you can save yourself before she finds out?"

He considered it for a second, "...Nah."


	42. Chapter 42

**Dear Readers,**

**Sorry for the delay, but honestly, I gotta say... I'm finally excited for my plans for this whole thing. Seriously.**

**I hope you like the twists and turns we've got in store for you.**

**I love you all for sticking around to read for so long. It is _so many _words, after all...**

**Disclaimer: Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail, Desna owns the Pradesh characters. My beta, GoddessxNyte2 is an angel sent from above to stop these characters from falling victim to my imagination. Try as she might, she only kind of succeeds...**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Lucy thought it would end when she'd broken his hand. She truly hadn't meant to do that, it had just kind of… happened. She wanted payback, sure, but she usually went for funny and terrifying over actual violence. He was just so _handsy…_

She'd been mid-slow-motion approach (a technique of terror she'd learned from the mighty Titania herself), and he void jumped behind her again and gripped her waist. It wasn't entirely… unwelcome, Vander was hot as hell and flirty to boot, but… it had been a reaction. And he wasn't exactly the Pradesh she'd been eyeing of late, anyway. And, really, he should have known not to startle her mid-payback.

She'd felt so badly about it that she kissed it, literally kissed his hand after crushing it in her grip (she'd never been able to do that before), as if he was six and she was his mommy trying to make it feel better. She would have begged Cris to help him, but when he'd said something about a MILF, she decided he wasn't in dire need for medical attention.

Cris, protective kin that he was, was inclined to agree. Van was kin too, but even his inner dragon recognized Vanders occasional need to be put in his place. Or his frequent need… that was more accurate.

All said, she had imagined that the shadowquip had learned his lesson. And now she was realizing that she wasn't sure _why _she would have ever thought so. His siblings had been dealing with it for years and it was seemingly never ending. Secretly, she'd found his playfulness endearing.

It was much less so when she was covered, head to toe, in gitter.

'_Virgo, Cancer, I think I need you.'_

And so the first official Pradesh/Heartfilia Prank war began. Vander would find himself in over his head quickly, she would make sure of that.

After all, she - along with all her spirits - was a veteran. Years worth of inter-guild prank wars, internal guild prank wars, and Team Natsu/Crime Sorciere prank wars (those were… excessive, by anyone's standards) had prepared her for this moment, and she'd be damned if she didn't put that experience to good use.

So she'd plan. She'd bide her time, but she'd plan, and when he'd finally dropped his guard, he would understand why she'd always been declared winner. In every single conflict she'd been involved in.

* * *

Lucy found herself, a few hours later, glitter free. Virgo was a godsend, really - or spirit-king-send, as it were.

The prank war was put on hold in her mind (though the plotting never ceased) so she could focus on the matter at hand: Fallen Star.

'_Fucking stupid ass name…'_

'_Princess… are you ever going to get over that?' _Ophiuchus asked her through the bond.

She sent a vehement, '_No,' _through the bond before focusing on the mages around her.

Cris, Emzadi, Erik, and Natsu stood on her either side. She felt a little bit like she had a dragon posse as she noticed this, and tried to stifle her giggles at the image. She failed miserably at withholding them when Kaleb took notice, and sent his own take on what her dragon posse should be into her already croweded mind (it was, literally, all four of them in fucking dragon costumes, with Wendy flying over them in her own… how was she supposed to hold her laughter in at that image?)

Vander, Kaleb, Bickslow, Zen, and Xally were sitting across from them at the other side of the large mahogany dining table. Arman, Freed, and Farron had squeezed themselves at the head of the large table, while Gray, Wendy, and Erza did the same thing on the other side. Evergreen and Jellal had decided the close quarters was too much for them, so they just hovered.

Most every one of them gave her a funny look while she giggled hysterically. Apart from Kaleb (the bastard, this was his fault) and Erik.

"Okay, okay, I'm good," Lucy said, calming down from her previous giggle fit. She found herself laughing more often, and more genuinely, than she had been in the past year. The celestial mage assumed it had a lot to do with the fact that she reconnected with her team, along with several members of her guild family. Not to mention Zen, who was fitting in better than anyone expected, and Kaleb, who had grown more tolerant of her teasing - their mild rivalry seemed to be graduating to a tolerated friendship.

She was, after so long, not alone. She'd had Erik, and her spirits, but… they all knew she craved people, companionship. The relative isolation of being alone or with just a few people, disconnected from the world, had started to affect her.

"Alright. So we're here to discuss the plan on catching the dark guild… Fallen…. Star…," she grumbled the name, but shook her head and continued on, "Location: Unknown. Their last known sighting was four months ago, in Seven. Loke caught sight of one of Fairy Tail's attackers on one of his many misdirection runs," she winked at Kaleb, who rolled his eyes.

Hearing his name, he summoned himself, but Loke didn't say anything. He still remembered the state she was in, in that forest being held down by a wind mage and tortured by Alec Cinder, when he'd been powerless to help her. Now that they were seriously tracking them down? He was all business. He just looked at the group, waiting for more information.

Lucy continued, "Membership is unknown as well. We know Alec Cinder, a powerful Scorch Mage. On par with a weakened Laxus, and a weakened Master Makarov, he's not to be underestimated. In addition to his apparently high power level, he… sacrificed a member of his own guild, his own team, to further his goals - using a type of scorch magic that turned her remaining magic power and life force into a weapon. I think it would be naive to assume he won't do so again, so when we encounter them, we need to have that in mind."

The room nodded, and surprisingly, Natsu spoke up next, "Greasy, that stinky guy that attacked, he was a wind mage. He used mostly physical attacks against me, but if I dodged, most of the time the wind still reached me. Nothing major but if the fight lasted more than a few minutes it could be rough," he admitted with a scowl.

Lucy gave him a smile, "Thanks, Natsu. On that note, his name was Bruno. Not sure of a last name, it wasn't ever mentioned. He also had a decent grasp on transferring magic power with his magic, so if we get into a conflict with him, he should go down first. Even if he's not a huge threat, he could be a problem if he starts feeding stronger mages magic."

"Good point," Kaleb added, "Do you have information on the other two mages? Four was mentioned in the report, but Fairy Tail's record keeping isn't… exactly stellar…"

Lucy's demeanor darkened even as the other Fairies chuckled at the, predictably, poor maintenance of the guild's paperwork, "Yeah," Lucy stated, "Like I said, Alec's a fucking monster. The animal summons mage - she specialized in snakes - is no longer anything we need to deal with. Alec murdered her, turning her body into a magic bomb of sorts."

The celestial mage looked at the table, clenching her fists on her thighs, "Piece of fucking trash, that guy is. On that note, Alec Cinder is mine," she looked pointedly to the large team she'd assembled around her, "No way is that guy going down by any hand but my own."

Zen spoke up, "Lucy… are you sure, we can-"

"No." she stated it firmly, no room for argument, but when she turned her gaze to him her eyes softened, "I appreciate it, I do, and if he's too much for me to handle, I'm not going to stop any of you from coming to help me. But," she unconsciously rubbed at her scar, "I need to at least try."

They all reluctantly agreed, Zen holding out longer even than Lucy's dragon kin, but eventually he accepted the terms as well. He didn't have to like it, but she was capable. And if he just so happened to be near her from the time they found the guild until the time they took them down… well, keeping an eye out isn't the same as interfering.

"The last mage, what do you know of her abilities?"

It was Arman who asked this time, and Lucy's dark move lifted, 'You mean shoeless? She's an earth-make mage. Strong, but no stronger than S-Class, I'd guess, based on the last fight I witnessed."

"Shoeless…?" Gray prompted, earning a chuckle from Kaleb, Cobra, Lucy, and Natsu. Happy would have likely teased in some way, but he was too busy napping in the cushions in the corner of the room.

"Funny _you _should ask, Stripper. Because she lost her shoes like you do your clothes!"

"What did you just call me?"

"You heard me, Icicle dick."

Gray stood, the dark mark on his side pulsing and growing slightly, "You want to repeat that, you flaming asshole?"

The magic in the air was soon overwhelmed by a much brighter, more suffocating magic. All eyes redirected to Lucy, but she didn't even say anything. She glared at the two quarreling mages, eyes flashing gold.

Natsu, not wanting to spend the next hour as miniature versions of himself, backed down quickly. Though, that may also have been because he was closer to his best friend's evil glare. Gray lasted only a moment longer before he assumed his normal brooding position and sat back down on the chair, shirtless.

Erza looked on proudly.

"Anyway, she's nothing too concerning. I don't have any doubt that anyone of the mages here would be sufficient in taking her down," Lucy continued lightly.

"We can't discount the possibility that each of these mages has grown stronger," Freed added. Next to him, Farron assumed a thoughtful expression before agreeing.

"He's right. You all have grown considerably stronger since Lucy left the guild, or so I've heard. It stands to reason they may have been training as well. It has been over a year, after all. And they'd not made any move to attack in that time, they may have been preparing."

"I don't think so," Vander added, expression serious, "From the memory we all watched, thanks for that, by the way, Bixy-boo, Alec was looking for a way to get around Lucy's involvement in whatever they were looking to accomplish. He may have decided to go ahead and do that, since Stella here managed to hide from everyone. If the zodiac keys are the last piece of the puzzle, they may have just been waiting to get everything else settled before making a real attempt at finding them. The less time they hold the most powerful keys on earthland, the less likely they are to be caught."

"You may have a point, there," Bickslow agreed.

"What memory are you talking about?" Erza asked with a raised eyebrow, "Would it be possible for you to share it with the rest of us, Kaleb?"

Simultaneously, all nine members of the Pradesh Family shouted a firm, "No."

Erza looked confusedly at the rest of the group, but otherwise didn't press the subject. Obviously it wasn't an argument she was likely to win anyway.

Emzadi spoke up, "That's really all we know about their wizards, right?"

Lucy nodded, deep in thought, "Yeah. The only other thing we know at all, is their goal. Or part of it anyway. They want the Zodiacs, plain and simple. Maybe they need me, maybe they don't, but apparently no matter which ritual they try to accomplish, they need the keys."

"Which they can't actually get, they are attached to you now," Zen pointed out, gesturing toward the tattoos on her arms.

Loke scoffed, "They'll just go after her. The gates hold all the magical properties they always have, just anchored to Lucy herself."

"Right," she confirmed, "So now we know this, here's the plan…"

The conversation went much the same for the next few hours, everyone chiming in with information they had, or asking questions they didn't know the answers to.

Lucy slowly noticed that Natsu had become… more mature. If only slightly. In small ways, all of her teammates hat.

Erza's love for Jellal hadn't diminished in the slightest, but her comfort level with him seemed much better. She didn't blush when she caught his gaze, nor did she constantly check to see if he was there like she'd done in the past. He wasn't leaving, and Erza finally realized that.

Gray was… less broody. Still serious, yes, but he no longer seemed held back by his past. His suggestions were confident, and well thought out, and he'd actually spoken aloud with the group far more than Lucy had expected. His clothes still came off, frequently, though, so she was sure it was the same man.

Freed seemed more reserved than she'd remembered, but somehow also less so. A contradiction, for sure, but it made sense to her. He didn't go for the overdramatics quite the way she was used to, but he was more engaged, and his basic emotions were written on his face instead of hidden behind that awful, stoic mask that his former high society life had taught him.

Evergreen was Evergreen, still haughty as ever and confident, but Lucy could see that where the confidence had been a show, a way to make her feel stronger, now it was _real._ Lucy made a mental note to see if Elfman had been of any influence on her when they got the chance to speak alone again.

When all was said and done and Arman halted the separate side conversations to come to a consensus, they had finally come up with a solid plan of attack. Or well, a plan of "seek" - the "destroy" part would come later, when they actually found them.

Lucy would focus her remote summonings in a few choice locations, instead of all over the map (when Kaleb pulled up the application he'd made on his tablet to track her movements, she'd laughed in his face) to hopefully draw one or both of them out. If they were successful, Emzadi, Cris, or Van would teleport with Lucy, Zen, Natsu, Bickslow, and Freed. Was that team probably overkill? Maybe. But they were taking no chances. Besides, Zen refused to be anywhere other than next to Lucy. Team Natsu had claimed someone from the team had to be involved, and since Natsu would annoying if he was left behind, he took that role. The Thunder Legion also wanted someone there, and Bickslow had claimed that spot rather quickly. When it was brought up that Freed would be helpful in detaining the enemy, Bickslow refused to give up his spot, so they were both going.

If that didn't work, they were putting all of White Sea's resources into finding Fallen Star's location, working with Crime Sorciere and whatever miniscule leads they had to try and track them down. Lucy held back whatever comment she wanted to make about their track record for finding mages recently, only grateful for the help. Unfortunately for Kaleb, he was a bit too in tune with her mind, but when he came across the thought, he only sighed.

If _that _didn't work, Lucy was going to come out of hiding entirely, Sting, Rogue, and Yukino were going to come clean, and she'd have her name cleared. She very much didn't like this option - not because she wanted to be a criminal - but because it put her family at risk once more. In the end, though, everyone else's opinions outweighed her own, and she'd been forced to agree. It as a little easier to swallow knowing that White Sea pledged their assistance (or Kaleb did) to Fairy Tail should the need arise.

As they didn't have a set timeline for any of this, everyone decided it was time to return to their lives and wait for word. In other words, the Fairies were going home.

Erza, Jellal, Gray, and Evergreen were returning to Fairy Tail, to report to master and Laxus and have the guild on standby. They weren't revealing anything about Lucy to the general members of the guild, there was still a spy somewhere, after all, but they'd make sure everyone stayed alert. Natsu was staying to train with the retrieval/interception team, as were Bickslow and Freed, and Wendy chose to stay to study under Cristoff for a while, as his magic was far more advanced than her own.

As Zen was back and was doing better than they'd expected, many of the siblings were leaving the estate as well. Xally was to return to school, Kaleb had to return to White Sea proper to manage the search efforts, and Vander had to return to missions for the Steel Council as they'd 'requested his presence' just that morning. Farron had duties to attend to, and while Arman had managed to take a sabbatical from his position while he got to know his son once more, Farron had more duties than ever. He did decide to split his time between his own apartment and the estate, though, so he and Zen could spend time together still. Cris and Em were reluctant to leave either of their new kin, and so decided to stay. One of them needed to be around at all times anyway, in case Lucy's spirits encountered the enemy.

All of them, however, insisted on being involved when they stormed the opposing guild if Plans A or B worked, and so all promised to stay relatively close to home so they could be gathered quickly to make a move.

"Well, if that is settled, I believe we must be going now," Erza said sadly, looking at Lucy.

Lucy nodded to her, "It won't be long now, Erza," standing up, she stretched, "I'll make sure of it."

The promise in her eyes made Erza smile, "Indeed."


	43. Chapter 43

**Dear Readers,**

**I got a request for more action. I had this written already, so I don't blame them for what is to happen now, but... **

**Lol, I'm kidding. My dark and twisty soul is all my own. Just know, from here out, things get pretty hectic. If all goes well... I may have this completed by the end of the weekend. Just prepare for a lot of updates.**

**Disclaimer: If you were wondering, yes, GoddessxNyte2 (my beta) tried to withhold cookies from me after reading this. She does that when my sadistic side comes out a bit too far... Desna owns the Pradesh Family, and Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail... in case you've forgotten.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

For the first few weeks, teasing Kaleb about not being able to find Fallen Star was pretty amusing. After the third month, even Lucy was sick of it.

It had been almost a year and a half since they'd attacked her guild, and she was still no closer to finding them. She really, really didn't want to admit it, but they were getting closer to making the decision to go with Plan C - clearing her name - and she really didn't want that. She'd sacrificed too much to keep her family safe to make them a target again, even if she was confident she could protect them.

"Lucy, we got another lead," Zen said, approaching her.

She scoffed, "So we have another false trail?"

He gave her a small smile, "Yeah, probably. Want to ignore it?"

The celestial mage sighed, pushing up off the railing on the balcony in the guest room she'd been staying in at the Pradesh Estate. She popped her knuckles, stretching out her muscles and hopping around to warm them up a bit, "Nah. We should go. You never know when we'll find the right clue. Who's the escort?"

Smiling, he followed after, throwing an arm over her shoulder, "Cris. But Natsu and the others got restless, they took a mission with the Sea, so it'll just be us three."

She laughed, "Oh, whatever poor town they're going too… I almost feel bad. I don't know why we ever thought it was a good idea for Natsu and Emi to meet."

He made a small hum of agreement as they left the room.

Zen, he'd been coming along really nicely. After a lifetime of captivity, they assumed he'd struggle for a really long time with just basic connections, but that hadn't been the case. Sure, some things really bothered him still, like anyone non-family member that was male being too familiar with him. Or someone getting behind him during a spar - unless that someone was Lucy, as the odd bond they shared made it so he knew where she was, and that she'd never hurt him. They were both pretty sure that causing bodily harm to one another would be impossible, even if they were to somehow find themselves wanting to do so. Their magics just wouldn't allow it.

They didn't know much about the protection bond thing that they'd found themselves in, and the spirits either didn't know anything about it or they were being tight lipped. For once, Lucy thought it was the former. They'd told them both that Archangels mated to celestial mages, but they'd confirmed that it wasn't the case with them. At least… not yet. Their casual, easy friendship had turned toward flirtatious the more comfortable Zen became with his new life, and Lucy would be lying if she said she didn't enjoy that.

She just… wasn't ready to do anything about it. She felt like her whole life was on hold while she chased after this fucking guild, and until they found them and dealt with it, she refused to divert her attention.

"I wasn't sure you guys were even gonna make it," Cris called to them from the training yard, which over the last few months had turned into just that. Freed had secured stronger runes, the others set up some training dummies, Kaleb had been so kind as to send a few earth mages to help set up obstacles, and a few separate sections so that multiple people could train without disturbing each other. Arman was fine with the changes, but had forced Kaleb to promise to help him right it all once his house-guests had completed their mission.

"We weren't sure we wanted to follow another bogus fucking lead, either, but here we are."

He chuckled at Lucy's statement, "Oh relax. We'll find them," he said, pulling her in for his typical teddy bear hug, "You ready?"

She sighed. The fact that she was kin with all the slayers was still confusing to her, but she had to admit, her bond with Cris had kept her sane through the disappointment in their lack of finding the dark guild. His hugs were magical. Literally.

"Yeah, let's get going. I wanted to practice some of the new spells Capricorn's had me training recently, if we go now we might get back with enough time to do it."

Zen rolled his eyes, "I have no idea why you would ever need spells that powerful, but alright. Let's go, Cris."

He put a hand on the top of Lucy's head, ruffling her hair in the process, and grabbed Zen's shoulder, performing a Lunar Shift.

* * *

When they arrived, it was to smoke and fire. And instantly, Lucy was on alert, as well as the others.

"This wasn't what we were expecting," Cris warned, "We only heard of a sighting of that guy, Alec… Be careful, yeah?"

Zen stepped closer to her, and she rolled her eyes. Though she knew he couldn't help it. She almost did the same thing to him. The urge to protect they felt through their magic was pretty strong, it was hard to control the impulse.

"I'll be fine, Zen," she said softly, "Stay sharp, guys. I can feel his magic. This was definitely Alec. Goddamn it, why did the others have to pick today to be restless and run off on a mission?" Lucy complained, taking cautious steps into the village they'd come to check out.

Cris and Zen fell in close behind her, ready to fight.

"Who were we coming to see, Cris?" she asked, not taking her eyes off her surroundings.

Similarly vigilant, the Lunar Slayer answered, "The village chief contacted White Sea, said some of the citizens saw that guy. Didn't name any names, but he said he'd have all the info. He's in the center of town, or… would have been."

Lucy nodded, keeping on alert as she walked toward the village square. All Stellan villages were much the same, and over the course of the last few months, many of their calls to investigate had been in the quiet country. She knew the most likely path to take. As she walked she silently summoned Virgo, Libra, and Loke, as extra eyes.

'_Virgo, you're with Zen. Loke, stick with me. Libra, stay by Cris and make sure he's safe. He's our only healer if shit hits the fan,' _she spoke through the bond.

'_Yes, Princess,'_ they each acknowledged the request, taking up positions next to their assigned mages. Loke started to walk ahead of her but a quick chastisement through the bond had him walking by her side.

She took in the scene around them as she rounded another corner. She, for the first time, saw the fires up close. And she wanted to be sick. This was Cinder's work, of that she no longer had any doubt. Strewn through the streets were… bodies. Women, children, men who'd clearly been fighting a swordsmen, judging by the fact that several had missing limbs or deep slashes.

She knew it was Alec when she saw the blisters surrounding each mark, cauterizing each wound. She'd felt the pain of that blade, of the scorching, all-encompassing pain that came from something hotter than molten metal sliced through muscles and tissue like they weren't there.

Not even her own swords wielded against her enemies were so cruel. And these people were innocent.

She vowed that she would make one single exception to her general rule that if she was required to kill, it wouldn't be unnecessarily painful. Her unstoppable rage made her magic swell to levels she'd not experienced even in Peregrande. Zen took notice.

"Lucy, you need to get a handle on your magic. You're only going to draw them to us…" he said, though is voice was just as malicious as Lucy's thoughts.

"I don't see why that would be a bad thing at the moment, Zen," she answered, but toned her magic down just the same. It wouldn't do to be stupid about the whole thing and get themselves killed.

When she was forced to step over the body of a teenager, her anger was joined deep, profound anguish.

"Fuck this… I can't fucking believe he would go so far…"

They reached the square, and pinned to a small tree in the city's center, was a note. Addressed to Lucy. It said only this: "This is your fault, _Starbringer_. Those helping you will be next. Love, Alec."

This time, she did vomit, bile rising from her throat to be expelled on the stone pathway she was standing on. Zen pulled the note from under the ornate dagger that pinned it in position, and read it as well. His wings manifested on their own accord, and he handed the offending piece of parchment to Cris before going to pull Lucy's hair from her face.

Lucy felt it, as Cristoff's magic spiked, but instead of the same angry, malicious intent of both her's and Zen's, his was cool. And soothing.

She fucking hated it, "Don't you _dare, _Cristoff. Don't you _fucking dare _tampering with my emotions right now. You're kin, but I will put you on your ass, I swear to fucking Mavis."

He crossed his arms over his chest and pushed his magic to soothe her a little harder, "No can do, little star. Your righteous anger won't help anyone right now."

She was about to follow through with her threat when his energy finally made it through her own dense magic, and she felt herself calm. Her anger wasn't gone, it never would be, but she could think clearly again. Next to her, Zen let out a sigh that told her he'd felt it as well.

"...fuck…" she said, crumpling to her knees and shaking, "Cris… Is… is this because of me…? Is it really my fault, just like he said?"

"No, Lucy," a feminine voice called from the other entrance to the square, and she jolted up in surprise. Emzadi was standing there, with the rest of the retrieval team by her side. "Natsu and I felt your anger… We came as soon as we could," she answered Lucy's unasked question.

The looks on their faces were a mixture of anger, sadness, despair, shame, and a dozen other emotions she didn't the mental capacity to fully grasp in that moment.

"C'mon, Luce," Natsu said, approaching her and reaching out a hand, "Up and at 'em. We've gotta bury these people, and these fires… Not sure Emi and I should eat the flames, but we-"

Lucy's power flared again, and the water from the well that had been the center of town overflowed with gentle, faintly glowing water as Lucy's eyes and her Mark of Aquarius lit with a soft gold.

As she took Natsu's hand in her own and accepted his help, she - for the first time - used Aquarius's magic for something other than her own reminiscing.

The others watched in awe as the water gently moved around the town, touching only the fires and putting them out before moving on, leaving whatever remaining structure intact. Each of the town's now dead citizens was embraced by the waters, washing away dirt and debris with the most caring of touches, the water - and Lucy - doing the only thing she could for the fully innocent deceased.

The others remained silent as Lucy summoned spirit after spirit, stardress after stardress, and buried the dead. Any attempt at helping from the others was met with the most anguished glare they'd ever witnessed, so eventually, they stopped trying. Their only job now to bear witness to the celestial maiden's steadfast apology to the citizens of a town she'd never been to, in a country that wasn't her own, full of people who'd never deserved the fate they'd received at the hands of an enemy that was solely Lucy's responsibility.

Magic almost fully gone, Lucy stood in the center of the town's square and with the very last vestiges of her exceptional strength, summoned her Gemini stardress and called Scorpio to her side.

She spoke to him briefly, received his solemn nod, and transformed into Laxus. Scorpio summoned a massive column of sand, and Lucy, in Laxus' form, summoned a blinding strike of lightning. When their vision cleared they saw a massive, swirling statue of glass that was shapeless, but beautiful. Scorpio disappeared, and Lucy fell to a knee.

Zen tried to approach her, but she stopped him with a raised hand over her shoulder and a shake of her head as she summoned Caelum to her side. The chisel spirit carved something into the glass at eye-level, and Lucy collapsed unconscious as he disappeared to the spirit world in a flash of gold.

When the archangel mage scooped Lucy Heartfilia into his arms, he glanced at the carving and his own sadness engulfed him:

In This Place

In A Battle They Did Not Know

The Lives Of The Innocent Were Lost

Though They Cannot Be Restored

They Will Never Be Forgotten


	44. Chapter 44

**Dear Readers,**

**I gotta say, this is the beginning of the end for CtFS, and I'm unbelievably excited to approach the finish line. Also, I really hope I'm able to do this justice. Let me know what you think in the reviews, I need to hear your thoughts. Seriously. I need them.**

**Disclaimer: Desna owns the Pradesh Family, and Bosco, and all that. Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail.**

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**Enjoy!**

* * *

Lucy was a verifiable mess. She'd spent days recovering from the magic depletion she'd pushed herself into, and weeks after trying to find some way to get rid of the nightmares plaguing her thoughts. If she'd just acted sooner… If she'd just been more enthusiastic in investigating the lead that day… If she'd come out and had her name cleared, given Fallen Star a target that wasn't a bunch of innocent villagers that had nothing to do with the conflict they were in, and no single way to defend themselves…

Zen, he'd been hovering. He knew, just as the others did, that it wasn't Lucy's fault. Sure, maybe things would have been different if they'd made different decisions, but at the end of the day, the only person who had literally gone out and massacred over a hundred people on a whim had been Alec Cinder.

Try telling Lucy that.

It took Cobra's poison kin-speak to break her out of her bubble of misery. He'd arrived in Bosco after returning to seeking out information with Crime Sorciere for the few months they'd been searching, and he'd walked right into her room and _thrown her from the balcony._

His methods were… interesting. But they were effective.

"Take a fucking look around you, Poly! You're not the only fucking person struggling with that shit, and if you don't get your act together, that goddamn guild is going to do it again. Is that something you can live with?"

She'd avoided serious injury from the fall by rolling through her landing, and she stood glaring up at him from the ground. Furious, but seeing his point, she'd given him a slow shake of her head.

"Then I suggest you pull your head right the fuck out of that ass of yours and act like the leader that giant terrifying starry prick made you. Got that?" he said, pointing at her with a disapproving finger for emphasis.

She took a deep breath and nodded.

From that day forward, Lucy… grew the fuck up. She thought she'd done so before, but apparently that wasn't the case. Because when she'd looked around that day, she realized she was being a selfish, whiny child and Erik was right. She wasn't the only one struggling.

Natsu, the poor, sweet, mostly innocent dragon slayer probably took it the hardest. He'd seen so much in his life, and overcome it all, but he'd never seen war. Not senseless, stupid, useless violence against people who had no hand in the fight that was brought to their doorstep. None of them had, really. But that day, Natsu had been forced to see the harsh realities of the world up close and personal, and he'd been fighting to make sense of it ever since.

The Boscans were all struggling, though at least they'd seen it before. Bosco was a wonderful country, but they weren't perfect, and some of the Boscan clans that had been around for generations were a special kind of violent and territorial that just didn't go away because the world had moved on from such things. They'd all seen war.

Bickslow, though… he was probably more of a mess than Lucy. He was no stranger to death and destruction, his past wasn't one he liked to relive, but… he'd been forced to see all those souls that day. Lingering, confused, traumatized. He knew Lucy would have been happy to know that many of them moved on after her unbelievable show of remorse, regret, and apology. He couldn't tell her though, because he wasn't ready to talk about it. He'd even taken in a soul that day, and he was still adjusting to it. The poor, confused little girl that had just been looking for her parents. He was glad she mostly didn't remember her life, but he'd seen it in her soul when he saved her, when she was bound to a totem and to his soul. And her memories of that attack, the ones she didn't understand anymore, they still haunted his dreams.

Lucy saw their pain, and decided hers wasn't important. Erik was correct, Starbringer wasn't some fancy word given to her to stroke her ego. She was a protector. A leader. Someone who fucking took charge and handled shit, even when nobody else could.

It was time she started behaving as such.

She begrudgingly admitted that she didn't know _how _to be a good leader, beyond how to direct people in battle strategy. So she'd started talking with Kaleb. Their chats were long, usually pretty emotionally raw, and frequently silent. He'd gotten better at reading her, and even through her, her spirits, so occasionally he threw himself into her chats with her spirits, or when he wanted, he could ignore them entirely and focus on her.

Lucy trained harder even than she had during the year she'd been gone, if for no reason other than to distract herself, or clear her head enough to just _think. _And plan.

And she was immensely grateful that through all of that, Zen was by her side. Their flirtation had been less… flirty these days, because they were both raw, but their connection was undeniable. It had gone from lighthearted banter and gentle, casual contact to intense, unspoken feelings. Though they both knew they were there.

And she relied on him. More than anyone else, even her spirits, she relied on him.

It had been him she spoke to, the day after Erik came barging in to throw from the second story, when she decided to get her name cleared, declare her location, and wait for them to come to her.

"I… I'm going to use myself as bait. I think it's time for Plan C."

Zen, who she'd been sparring with, stopped the attack he was going to throw at her to give her a thoughtful look, "You believe this is the best course of action?"

Lucy stood up from her ready stance and dropped her stardress, wiping the sweat from her brow, and plopped down where she stood in the middle of the training field. The sun had set long ago, but neither were particularly uncomfortable in the dark of night. Their magic was of the stars, after all.

"I don't think I have much choice. None of us will be able to handle another situation like what happened in Stella…"

She trailed off, and he sat down next to her after stabbing his sword into the ground at her feet. She hadn't even flinched at how close it came to her baby toe, just waited patiently as his large frame settled into the grass next to her much smaller one.

"You realize this will put you in danger, right?"

She looked at the stars instead of looking into his deep purple gaze, but nodded nonetheless, "I know, and I also know what you're gonna say. The bond is gonna-"

"Alright, let's do it."

"-make you crazy if we do something like that, and I know, trust me I'm worried about Fairy Tail and White Sea, too, but they are all mages. And so am I. I can protect myself. And the guilds have a hell of a lot better chance than another innocent village does."

She looked at him expectantly, "So…"

He laughed at her, ruffling her hair with the hand that wasn't propped behind him, "Lucy, you're a dork."

The celestial mage just tilted her head cutely in confusion, brows furrowed.

"I already said I agree. You were just too busy justifying your decision to listen to me."

Her confused look turned into a small, sheepish smile, "You're really okay with it?"

"I trust in your strength, Lucy," he told her seriously, directing his own gaze to the stars.

Her smile grew. Even still, she hadn't heard much of that. Despite how she'd grown, Natsu still occasionally threw out a comment on how worried he'd be for her in a fight. He had confidence in her, she knew that. But the idiot threw his own concerns in her face so often that it didn't usually seem like it. Erza had said it too, via com, when she checked in. Laxus didn't… usually, but he hadn't seen her in far too long and his dragon was antsy as fuck. She understood it really, and that's why she'd expected some kind of overprotective bullshit from Zen, too, because of the bond.

The fact that he hadn't done so was… incredible.

"Besides, you're right. Letting innocents remain in danger when we can do something about it isn't acceptable."

Lucy had to agree.

"Zen…"

He looked down at her chocolate brown eyes, and gave her a grin, "Yes, Lucy?"

"I can't tell you how happy I am that I found you that day."

He chuckled quietly, "I can't say I disagree, and not only because you saved my life that day," he said, placing a calloused hand on her cheek gently. She leaned in to it, "I'm not reading into things, am I?" he asked her quietly, leaning close.

She mirrored him, placing her hand on his opposite cheek, and she shook her head.

"But… not right now, right?" he said, sounding disappointed. But he wasn't stupid. He knew he loved her, or thought he did. He'd been a slave not too long ago and his gauge on his own emotions wasn't always the greatest. Hers, though, hers he saw translated clearly in her every action toward him. In the fact that she trained with him more than any other, told him everything, asked his opinion and truly valued it. In how clearly he could tell she would jump into the embrace of death if it would spare him the same. In her every casual touch, in the way she leaned on him for support.

He briefly wondered if she saw the same things in him, but shook it off. Because she was answering him, "I… I can't. Not now. Not when… Not with that bastard is out there…" she said, but her actions spoke differently. Her hand had moved to tangle in his hair at the base of his neck as she pulled him forward, leaning in closer herself.

He smirked at her, "You know, I've never been kissed before," he confided softly.

"A s-shame, r-really," she said, they were barely a breath apart and she cursed in her head for her pre-teen-esque stutter, "You know, now I think about it… neither have I."

"I think I could probably fix that for you, Lucy," he said, closing the distance between their lips. The kiss was soft, almost tentative, and the celestial mage threw all thoughts about how she shouldn't give into this sort of thing in the current circumstances out the window. Well, she threw all thoughts out the window.

It was soft, sweet, brief, if not a tiny bit awkward because neither of them knew what they were doing. She'd grown up in a place where doing anything of the sort would get you labeled as a whore, and every moment she'd spent after that had been one end of the world moment after another that left her with no time for romance. He'd grown up as a slave, and while he wasn't a virgin - no, that place had stolen his innocence, too - he'd never had the desire to show casual affection, to kiss, to love; nor had his guards taken that from him, as it wasn't something Peregrandians took part in.

They'd pulled away after a short, sweet moment, and Zen had pulled her into his chest, hugging her close. Her arms snaked around his middle as she maneuvered to sit in his lap, content to cuddle into his warmth.

"This… It can't mean anything. Not yet. I owe it to that Stellan village not to get distracted by this, not now."

"I know, Lucy. I don't have to like it, but I understand. I'll always understand," he assured her, kissing the top of her head.

They stayed like that for hours before her exhausted form fell limp in his grasp, and he'd given her a gentle smile as he carried her back to her room.

After that day, they'd been inseparable. Though only Kaleb knew why, and he'd patted his brother on the back when he visited the estate and informed him that Lucy couldn't stop thinking about it. Lucy was standing right there, of course, and had turned as red as a tomato. This was Bosco, and Kaleb was equal parts trying to get back at her for all the jabs she'd thrown at him about outwitting him, as he was trying to make her more comfortable with their culture.

She'd always called _him _serious, but the painful set to her shoulders needed readjusting. If only his brother could, _assist… _with that.

He'd stopped by his dad's office to suggest he find Zen a Sudepah once all the craziness with the dark guild had concluded.

One month following Lucy's impromptu 'fall' from the balcony, and she'd gotten back on her feet. Just as she'd engraved it on that glass in Stella, she would never forget what happened. But just like with so many other things she'd had to get past, she wouldn't let it stop her from living. And she most definitely wouldn't let it stop her from getting justice.

It was the exact day that they hit a year and a half from the initial attack on Fairy Tail that it happened.

And really, it was Lucy. They should have expected it.

But they didn't.

When Lucy was kidnapped, _literally, _from right underneath Zen's protective arm, they hadn't expected it in the least. And they - Zen specifically - had promptly freaked the fuck out.

"That's… what? 144?" Natsu asked Bickslow quietly from the corner while they watched everyone running around, mages teleporting in and out, even Vander being pulled back from a mission from the Steel Council with one word from his father over the com. -The seith mage only nodded, pulling out his com to contact his soon-to-be irate best friend and future guild master.

"Hey, uhhh… Laxus…. So, something happened…"

Laxus glared over the lacrima feed, "Why the fuck do you have your 'Lucy just got kidnapped' face on, Bickslow?"

"Well…"


	45. Chapter 45

**Dear Readers, **

**I couldn't leave you at the cliffie. It was rude. **

**PLEASE TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK. That is all.**

**Disclaimer: Desna owns the Pradesh Family. Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail. GoddessxNyte2 is my brilliant beta.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

"Goddamn it, not again…" Lucy muttered to herself as she felt the odd sensation of being pulled through… a… gate? It was odd, it felt a lot like how it had whenever Loke had taken her to the celestial realm, just, kind of, different. She was having trouble articulating how it felt, honestly, because she had an unreasonable amount of spirits shouting in her mind, inquiring about her status.

Even though they could fucking _feel _that she was fine, their bond was pretty comprehensive. Though, now, she did have a headache.

She hissed at them all through the bond to quiet the fuck down so she could figure out what the hell was going on, and they complied. Though Loke did so reluctantly.

He'd been witness to the rather unpleasant things that happened the last time she'd been kidnapped.

"Finally got you," a voice said in her ear, and she recognized it instantly, though it sounded almost tired. Turning around to hit him, she found she… couldn't. She was in runes. Odd looking ones that felt like celestial magic, but runes just the same.

Being so close to Alec Cinder and him literally being inches out of her reach was an experience so incredibly frustrating she couldn't think. Her magic power went fucking _rampant, _but it seems they'd planned for it. They weren't as unprepared as she would have hoped they'd be.

Realizing she was essentially in a five by six foot block of _not being able to move, _she felt a sliver a fear creep down her spine. She pushed it aside, focusing instead on her anger.

"You _bastard… _I promise you, you will live to regret the day you crossed me, or you will die denying it."

He smirked at her, but even in that, she could tell… whatever he'd done to bring her to this place… it had weakened him.

She was almost annoyed by that. It's almost less satisfying to kick him while he's down. Almost. Remembering the Stellan Massacre, she decided she didn't need satisfaction from his death. She needed pain. He needed to burn, the way his victims had burned in their homes for no reason at all.

"Seems whatever you did to get me to wherever the fuck we are… took a toll on you, Alec. How… disappointing," she said, her magic still flexing around her in nearly uncontrollable rage.

She saw Bruno and Terra behind him, but for the first time, she really looked at them. There was _fear_ in their eyes. It could have been from the golden hue in her skin and along all her key markings, but seeing them actually meet her gaze, almost pleadingly… she doubted that.

The Starbringer brought her attention back to her once-torturer, her eyes betraying a hatred she'd never had before. She didn't hate people (she had a _lot _of people she didn't particularly like) but hatred was altogether unfamiliar. In Cinder's case though, not unwelcome.

"What," he teased as lightly and pompously as he could, "Don't you recognize this place?"

* * *

Zen was halfway past losing his goddamn mind, pacing around the large dining-room-turned-conference-center as his family tried to figure out where his best friend and the woman he loved had been taken.

Right from under his arm. Literally. A fact that had his magic nearly spiralling out of control. Cristoff's magic was clearly trying to calm his own, but that likely would have been more effective if Cris himself wasn't nearly as frantic as he was himself.

Looking around the room, all of Lucy's dragon kin were similar. Well. All except Natsu, Lucy's longtime partner who had been through more kidnappings (literally, more than one in a day at some points) that he was all calm determination and easy confidence. It almost annoyed him, Natsu's attitude, if he didn't know for a fact that the fire slayer cared for her deeply.

There wasn't much Lucy kept from him these days, and the details of her reunion with Natsu hadn't escaped their conversation topics.

Erik had berated Emzadi enough that she'd been forced to pick him up from his position with Crime Sorciere just so she could kick his ass. They'd arrived back, and immediately continuing to freak the hell out about Lucy's status, ass kicking forgotten. Temporarily, anyway, Zen knew Emzadi rarely forgot about threats she made.

She was like Lucy in that, a little. It was similar to how he knew, he just _knew, _Lucy was still going to get Van back for the stunt he'd pulled four months ago. With the glitter. The celestial mage hated that stuff. Her frequent rants on the topic in his memory almost made him crack a smile, but he was too filled with worry to actually do it.

Laxus had managed to refrain from having someone jump him all the way to Fiore, but he was wrangling a _very _irate Wendy and an even more frustrated Gajeel, who's soul bond had kicked back into high gear as soon as he'd heard 'Lucy' and 'Kidnapped' in the same sentence while standing near the bar when Laxus got the call from Bickslow.

Cris had gotten the unfortunate task to jump to fucking Fiore to retrieve two very agitated dragon slayers from the Sabretooth Guild. He was practically exhausted from jumping so far, Sabretooth was exactly too far to be comfortable for him, but not enough that it wasn't doable. They wouldn't have gone to get them at all, but Kaleb reminded everyone that Sting… couldn't be trusted not to be a dumbass. Rogue had agreed with that wholeheartedly, sitting right next to said dragonslayer and holding up the com. He'd claimed he would not be held responsible for whatever dumbass decision he couldn't keep the man from doing, and Cris had gone.

So now the entirety of the Pradesh Clan, the freshly surprised entirety of Fairy Tail, and every dragon slayer on fucking Earthland were sitting around twiddling their thumbs trying to figure out how the hell things had gone so wrong when she'd been standing right next to them not three hours ago.

It didn't help that they had less than no leads to follow.

Arman looked as though he was starting to worry about the state of his home. For good reason, as a few walls had been blown to pieces already.

"Okay, everyone needs to calm the fuck down, we'll never find her this way."

"You'll never find her anyway," a grumpy voice stated from the doorway, one that hadn't been there earlier. "You'd never have guessed where they were holed up. It was so stupid that it was kind of brilliant," Loke admitted, strolling almost casually into the room.

"LOKE!" Zen shouted, approaching the man at nearly a sprint. "Where is she?!" he asked, grabbing at the Lion Spirit's collar and shaking him.

"Hey, watch the suit…." he grumbled, but answered nonetheless, "She's… she's at home. At the Heartfilia estate. She told me to come tell you."

"She has access to her magic?" Arman asked, confused.

Loke rolled his eyes, "Yeah, she does. Since our gates are secured to her now, not even magic cancelling cuffs could keep us from appearing. And the bonds are internal magic, they couldn't stop that if they wanted to."

"So why the hell are you there, fleabag, and not helping Lucy?"

Loke glared at the com feed showing Laxus that was projected on a large screen in the room, "In all the years you've known me, when would I have ever left her there alone if I had another choice?"

Laxus grumbled, but relented. Gajeel was still bitching in the background, but he went ignored.

"She's stuck in some strange form of celestial runes. Which gives me some thoughts on who they might really be, but… I can't see how that would be possible… Anyway, we're pretty sure the runes are limiting her magic output to the gates and without her support we wouldn't be able to do much. Besides, we are under orders not to come out, Lucy says they are after us and she'd 'be damned if they got what the wanted' or something along those lines."

Zen asked him to elaborate on the 'who they are' thing, but got a glare in response, "I could tell _you_, maybe, but then you would feel obligated to tell them, and then when Lucy is released from this stupid fucking situation, her duties as Starbringer would force her to punish you for releasing secrets of celestial magic. Tell me, do you want to be on the receiving end of what happened to Karadin of Peregrande?"

The archangel mage shuddered. He… did not want that. And he wouldn't say, with all he'd done in the pits, that he was confident the scales would fall in his favor. And he'd never put Lucy in that position.

"Is she alright?" he asked softly, looking into Lucy's faithful spirit's eyes.

He nodded, "She's more angry than what happened in Peregrande, but… she's fine. Not hurt. Gotta go, though, I'm on standby, we all are. I'd hurry there, I haven't a clue what they want, but… they snatched her. With apparently great effort from their leader. They've got some sort of plan, and it's surely not good."

With that, he disappeared, and the rest mobilized.


	46. Chapter 46

**Dear ****Readers,**

**I know. This is crazy. **

**I'm... not sure what you're gonna think. I'm actually really nervous about posting this chapter. PLEASE drop a review, I need to know what you think.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail (Hiro Mashima does), I do not own the Pradesh Family (Desna does), and the greatest beta in the world is mine (GoddessxNyte2).**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

"...the Konzern? Are you serious?"

She sent Loke off to the Pradesh estate through her bond as soon as she recognized the fancy wallpaper and stifling atmosphere.

Alec, propping himself up against his sword lodged in the marble flooring, chuckled before replying, "Yes, very serious. How amusing, if you'd just thought to check at home you'd have found us. Maybe you'd have stopped me soon enough to save that poor, sad little village in Stella."

Both mages behind Alec flinched when Lucy's magic increased, eyes flashing gold as she transformed into Cancer's stardress. It seemed the runes didn't stop her from using magic _inside them_. And Loke had no problem summoning himself. She had to anticipate there were restrictions on what she could supply her spirits with.

Gripping the blades, just _itching _to give the pompous asshole in front of her the same treatment she'd given King Karadin of Peregrande, she sneered at him. How fucking _dare _he even reference the innocents he'd slaughtered... She couldn't stop herself from imagining violence against him, couldn't help but think Alec's head would look much better separated from his body.

"Who the fuck are you, really, and what do you want from me?" Lucy demanded answers, pushing the point of her right-hand blade right into the glowing wall of runes. It didn't give under the pressure, but it gave her a small amount of satisfaction anyway when Alec took a tiny step backwards. And Bruno and Terra took large ones.

"Amazing, really, that you claim to know so much about spirits, yet you can't even recognize them?"

Loke's voice sounded, frantically, in her mind, '_I can't… I don't believe it. Princess… I'm so sorry. We… we did know them, I just didn't recognize them.'_

Said spirit summoned himself to her side, just outside the runes that were blocking her from doing anything. He shot an apologetic look toward Lucy for ignoring her orders to stay away before speaking to Alec directly, "Alnilam…Why? Why are you doing this…?"

The celestial mage observed them, trying to figure out what it was she was missing. She lowered her sword to her side, but didn't drop the stardress.

"Leo, this concerns you only as far as us needing your power. Otherwise, stay out of it," Alec spat out at him.

The lion spirit took a step forward, clenching his fists, "It concerns me, Alni, because we were friends once! Why are you doing this? You massacred a human village, for stars' sake!"

Alec ignored the rage on turned his way by the leader of the Zodiac, and turned his back, speaking in a quiet, menacing tone, "You of all people should understand our position. You're a fellow Fallen, after all."

The red-headed mage (spirit? - Lucy didn't recognize the name Loke used as a constellation, but that's what he claimed to be) walked back toward his 'comrades', and seeing him approach, they both shrank back in obvious discomfort.

Loke looked at them both, pleadingly speaking to them, "Betel...Tabit... Why?"

They wouldn't look at the Zodiac spirit, and didn't answer, but Alec, he seemed done with Loke's pleading. In the next instant he'd pushed the Lion Spirit into the wall, his forearm against his throat as he spoke evenly, "I don't know how the fuck you keep popping out of your own gate without a motion from _her_, and without her power, but I really don't fucking like it, cat."

Loke's eyes glowed, his rage almost tangible in the air in response to Alec's show of violence. This man, once his friend, now unrecognizable - literally - had tortured the woman who had nearly died to save him all those years ago. Right in front of his eyes. So evil, so changed, that even staring him in the face, he hadn't noticed who he was dealing with. He had slaughtered the innocent people of an entire fucking village without a second thought, and had trashed the guild that had once been his refuge, injuring people who had been his only friends in the process. Loke decided he was well and truly over it, and being the leader of the Zodiacs didn't mean nothing. He refused to stand for it any longer. Lucy was stronger than ever, and so was Loke now, even on Earthland. It was time he showed it.

Activating Regulus, he punched Alec in the chest, hard. The other mage fell back harshly and he tumbled down, still weakened from however he'd managed to pull Lucy from the Pradesh estate hours earlier. Loke, taking slow steps toward the heap of mage on the ground, stood over Alec menacingly, features arranged into intense disappointment, "There is quite a lot about me you never bothered to learn, Alni. And it's about time you learned your fucking place."

Alec got to his feet, his own glare meeting Loke's unflinchingly, "You and Orion, always just the same. Tell me, do you treat Regulus with as much disdain and disregard as Orion did us?" he asked, gesturing to the two others behind him.

The Lion shook his head, "It was never like that, Alnilam, and you'd know that if you paid any bit of attention to anyone outside of yourself-"

"If your loyal Regulus fought for years, pleading for the King to grant him a key, for the adventure that came with it… all that, only to land in the clutches of a terrible, abusive keyholder when that wish was finally granted... Tell me, oh wise leader, would you stand by your king, as Orion did when our comrade fell, meeting his death in the harsh embrace of Earthland's poison? Would you have stood by and watched? Would you?!"

Loke didn't get a chance to answer, as Lucy finally started putting the pieces together, eyes widening in realization, "You're… you're Stars… Literally… Fallen Stars…. _How _are you alive, why do you seem so… _human?_"

Stars, they were keys too. Not always, the rules of celestial magic, and relationships between celestial beings were rather complex, but not every key had to be a constellation. In fact, several of her own spirits weren't constellations at all, like Polaris, or Deneb. She had no idea why she'd taken so long to figure it out. Regulus, she knew, was one of Loke's stars. He'd told her once, a constellation's stars were like kin, part of that being's soul, but their own beings themselves. Regulus, Loke often told her, felt like a son to him. And if they were talking about Orion...

Alec stood up and glared at the girl he had locked in celestial runes, drawing her from her thoughts to answer her questions, "Your fucking mother did this to us, you stupid girl," he spoke quietly, "Your mother and that bastard you now call a _father. _The stars-forsaken _KING."_

Lucy fought to get her magic under control, because as much as she wanted - no, needed - to crush the man in front of her into little tiny pieces - and no, not the ones that would reform afterwards - she needed to _understand_. And she was finally starting to, if only just a bit.

"Alnilam. The center star of Orion… Betelgeuse… Tabit… You're... Orion's Fallen?"

Alec, well… Alni, he gave her a slow clap, while at the same time giving her a scathing glare, "Congratulations, girl. It appears you have the smallest amount of brain power, after all. Funny, I was convinced you had none at all."

Lucy didn't rise to the bait. She had more than enough material to be enraged at the spirit-human in front of her for the entirety of her life, a stupid jab at her wouldn't throw her off balance.

"I know your story. Well, parts of it, it seems. But you should be dead? And what does my mother have to do with this?" Lucy asked, trying to make sense of what led them to this moment.

And she wasn't lying about knowing the story. She'd learned of the Orion's Fallen from Loke, years ago, from one of their many conversations around the circumstances of his once-exile.

Saiph, Orion's Sword, had craved adventure. So much so that he couldn't satisfy his hunger for it within the confines of the Celestial Realm, and nearly three decades ago the spirit managed to convince the Spirit King to form him a Key. Orion had fought against this, fearing Saiph's recklessness, and was proven right when three years into his stint on earthland, Saiph murdered his keyholder. Loke hadn't gone into details of why. She knew three more of Orion's Stars had Fallen after that, something about trying to get revenge, but they should have been dead by now, and the exact circumstances of their Fall had been… vague. She truly didn't know what happened, and Loke's sadness at remembering comrades long lost had prevented her from digging further.

Now, though, the full story was going to be heard. She _needed _to know.

"I have no duty to explain myself to you," Alec spat at her.

Lucy flexed her magic, pushing at the cracks in the rune's she'd noticed earlier with sheer magic power, and they shattered around her. The runes were not nearly as powerful as Freed's, and she'd been practicing to overpower those for months. She made a mental note to thank him later.

"You're wrong, Alnilam. You, you will die today. I am the Starbringer, and your crimes against the humans on Earthland, in the country of Stella, those are mine to judge. Not even the Scales could prevent your death today."

As if to punctuate that statement, Libra appeared at her side, her masked face unreadable. The spirit placed a hand on Lucy's shoulder, a quick nod, and said softly, "The Scales have no objection to your sentence, Starbringer."

Lucy nodded once, and Libra stepped back.

"So," Lucy continued, "If you want any semblance of my mercy," she continued, taking a menacing step forward in the ballroom she'd once despised - noting a small amount of satisfaction at Bruno and Terra's (or Betel and Tabit's) attempts to flee being halted as Capricorn and Ophiuchus summoned themselves to block their escape, "I suggest you explain yourself. You may find some small amount of reprieve from the pain I plan to inflict."

Instead of giving in, Alec jumped into attack mode, launching himself at her. He had no idea who he was messing with, though. The person he'd tortured a year and a half ago was long gone, in her place someone who had trained, fought hard, seen meaningless death, and come out the other side a leader. A protector. An avenger.

She dodged his sword strike, and still in Cancer's stardress, slashed at his back as he stumbled past her. Lucy wouldn't admit to anyone, except maybe Zen, that in that moment the sight of his blood hitting the floor gave her a sick sense of glee. The monument she made in Stella flashed into her mind, and she steeled her resolve. Through her bonds, she ordered her spirits stay out of the fight, as Alec recovered.

"You stupid bitch," Alec spat at her, righting himself. He quickly stabbed his sword into the ground and held both hands in front of him, summoning magic power and blasting it toward her. She dropped her stardress and summoned Ophiuchus', crossing her arms over her chest to block the heated red magic thrown her way, absorbing the magic with the heavy, purple scaled armor. She was pushed back a few inches, but when she dropped her arms, was unharmed.

"You'll have to try harder than that, Alec. I'm much different than you remember."

Lucy rolled popping up next to him and going for a Lucy Kick. He dodged at the last second and caught her armor, melting the section of that covered the spot that same man had once impaled her. He caught sight of her guildmark and smirked, "Something to remember me by, huh?"

With barely a thought, she slipped into Leo's stardress, catching him in the face with a Regulus punch.

He went down as Lucy glared at him. She wanted him to get up. She needed him to, she wasn't nearly finished. So she waited. Her spirits, as well as Bruno and Terra, stood to the side.

Finally, he managed to stand, and launched another attack, this time with his sword. He scratched at her forearm, just barely, before she flipped away. She took two steps forward, summoning her Scorpio stardress as she went, and threw sand his direction from every which way. As soon as he was near enough, she kicked out at his back and he went stumbling forward, stopping himself from falling by digging his sword into the ground in front of him.

He turned quickly, lashing out at her with that same sword once he'd regained his balance, forcing her to fall backward to avoid another painful slice to her face. She very much still remembered that first one, she didn't want to do that again. Almost unconsciously, she rubbed at the scar on her face as she transformed once more into her Sagittarius form, and from a safer distance launched several arrows made of light at his person.

At this point, it was fairly obvious she was playing him, and her spirits watching at her side took notice. He'd been weakened when they started, but Lucy hadn't let up at all. This wasn't what they'd expect from their keyholder.

When Alec had received several painful wounds from the arrows she'd launched, she transformed one last time, into her Libra stardress. She manipulated the gravity around the spirit-man and watched as he fell heavily to the ground, groaning in obvious pain.

When he didn't move, instead still panting on the ground, she summoned Caelum to her side, and had him transform into a long sword. Similar to what Alec himself wielded.

'_You're ready, Caelum?'_

The chisel spirit never answered in anything like real words, but she felt his acceptance, and she channeled Regulus through him. They'd been working on this for a while, and merging their powers had proved difficult. Now though, they were on the same page, all feeling the same rage, and the power flowed smoothly, if Loke's came a bit hesitantly.

Lucy approached the Fallen mage, and stepping on his chest to keep him down. So similarly to the way he'd held her down all those months ago.

She held Caelum over him, in roughly the same spot that her own scar rested on her torso, and slowly lowered the sword…

His screams fell on deaf ears. For far longer than necessary.

The protests of her own spirits did as well.

It took panicked tugging on her arm for her to even notice them, "PRINCESS!"

Loke's strangled cry broke her overwhelming, all-consuming rage and she stopped. Stepping back, almost unsure of how she'd gotten there Lucy looked around her. Hastily, she sent Caelum back, and dropped her stardress completely.

Her hands shook as she regarded them, almost as if she wasn't sure what had made them so violent. Almost as if they had been the directing force behind her sadistic actions, and not her own mind…

"...shit… what… I-I'd… I'd never do this…" She looked to Loke for answers. He had been desperately pulling on her arm, trying to stop her from doing what he knew she couldn't live with. Not even to someone as vile as what Alnilam had become.

"...it's us, Lucy. We… your spirits, we're affecting you too much. This situation… we are all too enraged over it, and our influence is making you do things you normally wouldn't. You need to stop. We _will_ get answers, we will get justice, and we will leave with the others. They've got to be on their way by now, but you need to pull back from your bonds. You need to do it now."

Nodding, still shaking, she did as she was told, reducing the magic to her bonds. Her head felt clearer, but she was shaken.

She took a deep breath and pulled herself back into the present. There wasn't anything she could do to go back in time and stop herself from doing what she'd done, so she wouldn't dwell on it. This lesson she'd already learned, time and again, and she wouldn't allow herself to fall back into old habits. Not again.

Steeling herself, she spoke to Loke - aloud, still not wanting to test her bonds, "Stay with him. He… he still has to face judgement, but I need answers first. Don't let him move."

He nodded, "Of course."

Lucy walked toward Betel - the man she knew as Bruno, who was being held by Ophiuchus. He was squirming, and he looked terrified, but she needed answers. She did what she could to ignore how his fear made her terrified of herself.

"Tell me. Tell me everything."

The man couldn't find any resolve in himself to disobey her. And so tell her, he did.

"Saiph… W-When Saiph died, Alni, Tabit, and I… we revolted. Against the Spirit King. It wasn't _fair, _he shouldn't have had to die for the sake of some lowly _human..._"

When he saw the angry light in her eyes, he amended, "We didn't think he should have to die for the things he did. That law… it was unnecessarily unfair to spirits. The whole magic was. That's why we'd never asked for keys of our own."

Lucy nodded, indicating he should continue.

"We… we lost. We were reckless. We didn't even try and get allies, we just… attacked him. It was stupid, but we were grieving."

Lucy narrowed her eyes, chancing activating her bond with the Spirit King, '_I don't know where this story is headed, old man, but I'm pretty sure at the end of all this I'm going to have to fucking talk to you. I have to fix this mess that I'm half-certain you made right now, but I need you to prepare for a long conversation. Clear your schedule, I'm coming up there.'_

'_...if you insist, daughter.'_

"What happened next, Betel?"

"He locked us within gates, linked those gates with keys we never wanted, and sentenced us to service with Layla Heartfilia, your mother, until the end of her life, or until she saw fit to release us. The King… he really doesn't like being questioned about his rule…"

Lucy waved at Capricorn, indicating he pull Tabit over to them as she sat down. She had a feeling this was going to be a long story.

"Is this true?" she questioned once the woman was close enough.

Terra, or Tabit, whoever the fuck, she nodded.

"Tell me, how did we get from this sentence to where you are now? Someone fill me in, because I fail to see how you being sent to Earthland equals you being turned human somehow, or how it lead to an attack on Fairy Tail, and myself, nor how at the end of it all, a Stellan village had to pay the fucking price," her anger wasn't even thinly veiled, and she fought to calm down, checking on her bonds to ensure they weren't affecting her again.

It was Terra who continued, she seemed the less terrified of the two, "Alni… he convinced us that the best way to get back was to… shorten Layla's life. So… we pulled on her life-force. We refused to answer her call, but we were still connected to her. So, Alni figured if we slowly ate away at her, when she was weakened, we could stop. And she'd die, but it wouldn't have been our fault, not really, when she fell to a sickness in her weakened condition. But we never anticipated she'd use the life-force she had remaining to open the eclipse gate. When she did, she… she died, and we'd not prepared for it. The life force we pulled on became a part of us when she passed away, and not only that, but we'd been the direct, if still a secondary, cause of her death. We received the same sentence that Saiph had suffered."

The celestial mage sat back, trying to sort through her emotions, but… entirely unsure of where to start. She knew of the eclipse gate, it had caused them so much trouble with the dragons, it's not like she could forget. Though, she'd never really considered that her mother's death was anything but natural, and the realization that it _wasn't, _and that she still didn't fully understand why, was one she very much didn't enjoy.

"...Why did she activate the eclipse gate?"

Terra looked away, "I'm not sure, but the Zodiacs should know… They were all there, apart from Aquarius, as far as I understand."

Lucy closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She _knew _they kept things from her. Stache Face practically demanded that of them, but about her _mother_?

Gritting her teeth, Lucy pushed it aside for another day. That had nothing to do with why an entire Stellan village lay dead, so she needed to focus.

"So if you were sentenced to death via exile to earthland, why are you here? And why are you human?"

Bruno tentatively spoke when it became obvious Terra wasn't going to, "The answer to both is because of your mother," he began, "the life-force we stole, that kind of energy is never meant to be used by a spirit, and when she died and we took it in, it.. Changed us. We were still locked in our gates, in our keys, without enough power to summon ourselves, but we were more human than spirit."

Lucy was curious, "How are you here now if you were locked in your keys?"

It was Capricorn, this time, who chimed in, "Miss Lucy, that I believe I can explain. When you had the law changed for the sake of our Leo, the spirit king tied _every_ spirit you saved that day to the service of your bloodline. Every spirit in your care has gotten more powerful than ever under your contract, our power on Earthland is based on your own. Even if we aren't pulling it from you actively, this is how the magic is set up. Eventually, they became strong enough to open their own gates, or so I would assume."

Bruno nodded, "Yeah. But… we aren't spirits, anymore, not really. So we couldn't go back to our gates to replenish our energy. But we aren't fully human either, so Earthland will be toxic to us long before the last of Layla's energy runs its course. And until our punishment for treason is carried out - that punishment seems to have shifted from the length of Layla's life, to the length of your own - we can't return. We… we were fine with that. Terra and I were, we changed our names and were content to live until you died. Alec did so, too, but… he's always been so much angrier than us. And when we heard the news of your status as Princess of the Heavens, and learned of your impending spirit-hood… That meant our punishment went from the length of your human life, to... Forever. We'd never survive."

Lucy's eyes betrayed the smallest amount of understanding.

"There is nothing an immortal fears more than death, Starbringer," Terra spoke softly, almost pleadingly, "Alec… Alnilam, he used that fear to convince us to take action. That is when we attacked your guild."

Lucy frowned, "So what was the point? What was the goal?"

Bruno answered, "You could release us from our bloodline fealty, which would end our punishment. That is what Layla could have done to end our sentence when it was first placed on us. We wanted to force you to do so, after having a hand in your mother's death, we knew you'd never do so willingly. And if you forced our gates upon for us, something only you and the zodiacs could do, the celestial world would have cleansed the tainted energy we stole from your mother from our bodies, returning us to as we once were. Human energy doesn't last long in our world."

The celestial mage sighed, "I… I think you underestimated me. I would never have forced your fealty to me, when you didn't volunteer for it. It would have been a fight with Stache Face to send you home, and I'm not sure I would have, but I would have released you from your fealty if you'd just _asked._ Now, now you've committed unforgivable acts and I can't save you from them. What did that village in Stella have to do with any of it? Why did they have to die?"

Terra answered, and she looked genuinely ashamed, "That… that was Alni… We refused to be involved in that... But, he used it to draw you out. He needed a lock on your magical signature in order to use his energy to create a gate to you, to bring you here. We…" she looked pleadingly up at Lucy, "we tried to convince him there was another way, fuck, there were so many other ways… He's just… he's so far gone, now…"

Lucy sighed, fighting the urge to just murder the lot of them for what happened for literally no fucking reason, but spoke quietly, "I'm sorry, but I can't help you. Maybe years ago, I could have. Not now. This isn't forgivable."

Alni shouted from across the ballroom, voice bitter, "That's a filthy lie, you can help us if you wanted. You just refuse. You're just like that sadistic spirit that calls himself Sovereign."

Lucy stood, glaring at him, "I don't lie, Alnilam. There is nothing more I can do, nothing more I _will _do. You will face judgement, you have to."

He scoffed, spitting his words back at her in protest, "You want to prove how righteous you are? How good you are? Open the Benevolent Gate! Cleanse our sins, Starbringer. Send us home."

Lucy stopped mid-step, looking at him, "...you don't know what you're asking of me."

Oh, she had learned of the true nature of the 'Benevolent' Gate… It was one of the few answers she'd actually found since she and White Sea had begun their search. And she knew for a fact… Alnilam didn't understand.

"I _knew_ you wouldn't do it. You'll claim our lives with glee, without a second thought, and walk away like you're some sort of _hero_."

Lucy glared at him, "You? Of course I would. The two spirits you dragged into your own schemes, the ones you used fear to control? No. I take no joy in their fate. Regardless, my point stands. You don't know what you're asking of me, the Benevolent Gate-"

"Fuck you. Just kill us. If you refuse to save us from this like you claim you want to, then just end us now."

Lucy sighed, and made her decision, "No. I'll do as you ask. Maybe you're right... Maybe it will save your friends. But _you, _you will regret the suggestion, of that I am sure."

She silently summoned the rest of the Zodiacs, straining her magic extremely to do so, as she directed them to bring the three spirits to kneel in the center of the ballroom.

Just as they were pushed to their knees, the front door to the Konzern was burst open, Zen the first inside. She gave him an apologetic look, before initiating the incantation, all of her spirits taking a stance a circle around her.

Zen saw the look for what it was. An apology. Maybe even… a goodbye…? No, that wasn't right. She couldn't. No.

_No..._

But he couldn't move fast enough. Before he broke through the line of spirits, the entire room filled with a light so bright nothing could be seen, and a magic so intense that movement for any of the mages, became impossible.

Zen's shout rang out, but went unanswered, "LUCY!"


	47. Chapter 47

**Dear Readers,**

**Just... tell me what you think. That is all.**

**Reminder: Desna owns the Pradesh Family, Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail, I own nothing (I guess you can count the Fallen Star Folks, but... eh. I won't claim them.) My wonderful Beta is GoddessxNyte.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

The light held them in place for only a few moments, before it refocused on the ring of spirits and Lucy that sat in the center of the newly-ruined ballroom.

It formed a barrier of sorts, one they couldn't see through at all, and the light remained bright enough that none of them could even look closely enough at it to even try. Zen, though, he stood at the edge, fighting with all his strength to push past the barrier. The look she'd given him as she chanted those words… it scared him so deeply that he couldn't stand it.

All he wanted was to reach her, but everything he had wasn't enough. A fact that had him gritting his teeth, fighting to hold back magic in his rage. It wouldn't do him any good, here.

"Lucy…. Lucy…" he chanted it just as softly as she'd chanted the words to the spell. Words that echoed in his mind even still, as his attempts to reach her grew more feeble, his strength obviously not enough to fight the magic she'd summoned.

… _Solemn protectors, hands of Fate… I summon thee, pass your heavenly judgement… these assembled repent before the gate… pass thy cleansing light or deathly torment… _

They were words he'd never forget. He was almost positive they would be her last.

Behind him, Lucy's dragon kin were stunned. None were moving, all staring mostly horrified at the scene before them. Their bonds were still active, they could feel her, but they… couldn't _feel _her. Her emotions, so powerful through the bonds before, they didn't even exist now. They didn't know how to interpret that, so they stayed silent - though Laxus was sparking fiercely and Gajeel was flicking back and forth between his normal skin and his iron scales. Wendy's fists clenched tightly, she watched as Zen fell to the ground, collapsing to his knees at the edge of the barrier. Sting watched on with panicked eyes, while Rogue stood next to him, his shadows restless in both worry and in the presence of whatever bright light enveloped his kin.

The light was so intense that all they could make out of Zen's form were wings as black as night outstretched behind him, contrasted against the brightest light they'd ever seen. Brighter even than the sun.

Well. Not the brightest light they'd _all_ witnessed. Some of them had seen this exact light before, and those that recognized it were only that much more confused.

"Cris… that's..." Kaleb spoke, half in awe and half in outright confusion.

"...yes. I don't know how it's possible," Cris answered, eyes not leaving the image of his brother's dark wings, "but it's… Immaculate Light. Have you ever seen her use it before? Have you felt it in her before?"

Kaleb, who was only blonde because of the very light ahead of them, had always been in touch with the Immaculate Light. Since the moment he'd stepped out of it when he joined the knights at the age of fifteen, it had been a part of him. He'd been able to sense it in others, too.

"No. This is like nothing I've seen from her before. Not even in memories I've caught. I don't know what's happening anymore than you do."

He closed his eyes, trying to get a feel of the energy, "Though, it's… it seems almost… angry? I've never felt anything from the light but impassive, impartial judgement. Though it _has _always felt almost… sentient."

Cris looked to his brother, hiding his anxiety as much as he could and pushing his magic to try and calm his irate fellow dragon slayers - Laxus and Gajeel being the most frantic - as he asked his next question, "Can you tell if she's safe?"

Kaleb's brows furrowed as he focused harder, "Can't get a grasp on her mind, but… she seems safe. I can tell she's there, she's strong. But she's weakening. If this keeps up much longer-"

He didn't get to finish the sentence, because in that moment they heard the first scream. It sounded male, but other than that it was unrecognizable. By the barrier, Zen's attempts picked up in intensity.

Cris's magic seemed to finally get to the rest of the group, and it was Erza who approached, "Tell us what is happening. You seem more knowledgeable about this than the rest of us."

Kaleb nodded shortly, "Immaculate Light. It either cleanses all in it's light, or torments them, stealing the life from their bodies as payment for their sins. In Bosco, we have a lacrima that holds energy like this. Two, actually. Our military, and our legal system was built around it, they are the most ancient thing in our culture, as far as any recorded texts reflect. One rests at the Academe Celestine, the other in the Citadel. Each Knight must be judged before entering into military service, and criminals can choose to be judged in Immaculate Light to clear their names following a guilty verdict at trial. In most cases like the latter, the Immaculate Light becomes their method of execution."

Erza seemed to contemplate this, and Laxus stood there angrily, "So why the fuck aren't we getting Lucy out?"

"Fuck this, I'm going in there-" Gray said, hands icing over as he took a step toward Zen. He was stopped by Rogue's hand on his shoulder, and when he turned around Rogue just shook his head. Scowling, Gray looked back to Cris with a raised eyebrow.

Cris looked at his fellow dragon slayer and Lucy's icy kin, and rolled his eyes, "Lucy's controlling that light, she's not in danger from it. She summoned it, or did you not notice?"

Laxus crossed his arms angrily and looked away. Gray sighed and rubbed an anxious hand through his hair.

"Fucking Tink and her always crazy fucking shit. Goddamn it. Stupid woman, you didn't owe them one goddamn thing, why'd you have to be so _fucking_ dumb… Should have just fucking killed them with your bare hands…I'd have happily done that for you, stupid fucking kin."

Erik wasn't _really _talking to anyone else, it was more he didn't seem to care about his surroundings at all and hadn't noticed his unwitting participation in the conversation, "Cobra, you know something…?"

The poison slayer's eyes cut to Emzadi, who'd asked the question, and he shrugged through his obviously frustrated scowl.

"Her soul. It's pretty open to me right now, maybe because all her spirits are out and about, but basically, these assholes asked for redemption. Asked her to try opening this stupid gate thing, because they thought it would cleanse them or some shit. Lucy did it, because two of them might not have been involved with the thing in Stella, and she wanted them to have a chance. The third one, though… he just didn't know what the fuck he was talking about. Thought it would clear the sins from him," he smiled grimly, "he's the bastard that hurt her, by the way, and also the one providing those sweet, lovely screeches of agony. He won't survive much longer."

Just as he said it, the screaming died altogether, just as the source of them did. The light dimmed slightly and began to fade, and Zen's attempts finally paid off.

He pushed his way through the thick, bright magic and reached Lucy, catching her in his arms just as her spirits disappeared and she collapsed.

He fell to his knees, Lucy in his arms, completely unmoving.

"Lucy, what the fuck did you do…? Lucy…. LUCY! Damn it all, why…?"

She was breathing, he could see her chest rising and falling, but she was very much not moving. His attempts to wake her were futile.

He ran a delicate hand down her scarred cheek, "Damn it, Lucy…"

Zen's magic flared as he looked at her exhausted face, her face so expressionless she may as well have been… No. He wasn't going there. He needed answers, though. And he needed to find out _why_ she wasn't waking up. And he really fucking needed to talk to the person he could only assume was to blame. Lucy'd told many stories about him, after all.

"YOU ROYAL ASSHOLE, YOU COME DOWN HERE AND EXPLAIN YOURSELF!"

Zen's shout only confused the frantic mages who still couldn't quite see what was happening. As the last of the light died, they watched as the details emerged. Laxus recognized Alec, and his body was steaming, and unmoving. The scratches on his face, his arms, his body, told the story of his desperate attempts to rid himself of whatever pain had actually killed him. The lightning mage took a grim satisfaction out of the fact that he'd managed to claw out his eye before he'd expired, the same one he'd taken from Lucy all those months ago. It was somehow fitting.

It was also fitting that a certain poison dragon slayer kicked his steaming body as he walked past. Erik was pretty pissed he hadn't gotten to gouge that eye out himself.

Next to him were two… mages?

Laxus recognized them, too… kind of. They resembled the mages he'd seen that same day when he'd just barely managed to save Lucy, but they were different. The one he would have pegged as Bruno wore shining bronze armor, and his hair wasn't black… it was red, and glowing, and moving as if in a soft breeze when, despite the fact that the entire roof of the building was gone, there was not even a slight wind anywhere near them. He eyed Wendy, and she didn't seem to be out of control either. The other, the one who he'd been told used Earth-Make Magic, wasn't even human, so far as he could tell. Her skin was the same color as Bruno's armor, and her dirty golden hair was now a soft white, her features a bit more feline than he remembered.. She looked almost like a living statue.

"What… the… fuck…?"

If he was confused, so was everyone else, and the only person who could explain everything was unmoving, in Zen's arms, as Zen shouted into the now visible sky. Only Erik and Kaleb knew why, only they knew who his insults were directed at.

"WHAT THE FUCK DID SHE DO?!"

The other mages all approached slowly, Erza, Gray, Natsu coming the closest. Wendy and Cris trying to inch forward to see if she could be healed, but knowing it likely wasn't possible. She didn't appear to be injured, physically, at least. The single scratch on her arm was far from life-threatening. And Zen didn't seem inclined to hold his wings back if they were to approach any closer.

"I WILL FIND A WAY TO REACH YOU, YOU STUPID OLD MAN, IF YOU DON'T COME DOWN HERE!"

The sky practically opened up, and for the second time in celestial history, the Celestial Spirit King graced Earthland at the call of an uncontracted mage, as a result of a shouted insult.

His deep, rumbling voice let out a small chuckle as he addressed the Archangel Mage, "She is rubbing off on you, I see…"

Zen stood, holding Lucy's unmoving form close to his chest, and glared at the old man.

"Relax, Archangel. My daughter shall be just fine, she just needs rest."

The archangel mage still seemed rather unamused, "What did you do? What is going on? Why did she look at me as though she was about to die before she cast that spell? What's the Benevolent Gate-"

"Archangel, one question at a time."

Zen's wings spread, expressing his obvious distaste for the King's casual attitude.

The Spirit King sighed, crossing his arms over his massive chest, "I must admit, my daughter suffered from mistakes of my own making… for that, I am sorry. And I am sure," he added, almost exhaustedly, "she will find a way to get back at me for it. Devious little human, she is."

"...what else?"

The Spirit King shook his head, "Dear boy, these questions I cannot answer for you. I shall send Leo to you, once he recovers, to explain everything. I am afraid my time to linger is ending rather rapidly. Earthland can handle only so much influx of energy before there are consequences, and I fear my daughters spell has already pushed that limit. I charge you with her protection, get her somewhere safe, and let her rest."

Zen was very much not happy with this, but he couldn't argue any further. Lucy was his priority anyway, answers could wait. He'd been assured she was safe, all he had to do was keep her that way.

"You two," the King spoke, addressing both Bruno and Terra, "The Starbringer has bought your freedom and cleansed your souls. You may return, but know that any further trouble will not be tolerated. This is a second chance, you likely won't receive a third."

Both beings disappeared in a shower of golden magic, the King followed shortly after with a solemn, "Protect her," spoken to Zen before he was gone, and the sun shone down in the ballroom once more.

"Fucking hell, Lucy, how do you always manage to get yourself into this shit?" Laxus said, approaching cautiously. When Zen gave a small nod, he reached out and touched her hair gently, "Gonna give your big brother a fucking heart attack before he's thirty."

No one moved for a few minutes while all Lucy's Dragon kin started to calm down, taking in her scent and listening to her steady breathing.

Vander spoke up half-playfully, "You think, with all this, maybe she'll forget about getting me back for the glitter thing?"

Sting approached him, clapping him on the shoulder and shuddering himself, "Not a fucking chance, man. Blondie _really_ hates glitter."


	48. Chapter 48

**Dear Readers,**

**I am so happy to be posting some conclusion chapters, because that means I'm finally coming to the end of this massively long, crazy ass story. And I gotta say, I love you all for sticking around.**

**This won't be the final chapter, we have maybe one or two left, but we are close. If there are still things you're confused about, or things you want to see resolved, drop a review and I'll make sure they get answered. Before you drop a review about the payback for Vander - YES, I'm gonna resolve that. I've got big plans... :D**

**Another thing, if you haven't noticed, I changed the image for the fic. I had a piece commissioned by Amber Jin (find her on Etsy, she's the best) that displays Lucy's Spirit King Stardress, her new key tattoos, as well as both the Mark of Aquarius and the King's Bond Seal on her chest. I'm so unbelievably happy with that art, so check it out!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail (Mashima) or the Pradesh Family (Desna). My work is beta-ed by GoddessxNyte2 who is the literal coolest person ever!**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

"I'm taking her back to Bosco," Zen informed everyone, lifting Lucy in his arms and readjusting so her head would easily rest on his massive chest.

"Hate to say this, bro, but," Vander said cautiously, "Lucy was only hiding out in Bosco until these mages were dealt with. Dad's gonna have an easier time dealing with the fallout of Peregrande and Stella if she's not staying under his roof. You know he's been struggling to stop the King from marching into the house and locking her up for killing a foreign ruler."

Zen looked rather upset, and was going to argue, but Laxus spoke up, "I'm sorry, Zen. We've not really met and I don't know you, and I can tell you've got some kind of thing going on with Blondie, but her family needs her back home. Fairy Tail's closer anyway."

The Archangel mage scowled at him, but in all fairness, he had no claim to Lucy. Not really. And that irked the hell out of him, but he conceded with a short nod.

All her Fairy Tail kin visibly relaxed, and Rogue walked up to them, "Laxus, if you don't mind, I believe Sting and I will stay while she recovers…"

"Cris and I are sticking around, too. I don't actually care if you mind," Emzadi piped in, eyes never leaving Lucy's limp form.

Laxus rolled his eyes, "Fine, whatever, but you'll have to figure out your own sleeping arrangements."

-:-:-:-:-

Turns out, Laxus really needed to learn to be more specific. He'd assumed they would all find a hotel to stay in.

Nope.

They all camped out in his house. And he did mean _all _of them. All nine fucking dragon slayers, even ones who had their own fucking homes in Magnolia. If Laxus wasn't fairly certain Lucy would wake up and punt him into an early grave, he'd murder them in their sleep.

Sting had claimed Laxus' favorite couch. Not only that, he'd made a blanket fort with some of his spare sheets and the stools from the kitchen.

For his part, at least, Rogue had looked on disapprovingly. Apparently not enough, though, because he didn't actually say anything or make an attempt to correct his guildmaster's behavior. At Laxus' raised eyebrow, he'd simply shrugged, "...it's really not worth the headache. For what it's worth… I'm sorry."

Laxus had grunted and moved toward the kitchen, only to find Natsu raiding his fridge. The fire slayer had been fried immediately after that, but ever since he'd absorbed Laxus' lightning on Tenrou the little shit had been more resilient to that kind of thing. Laxus had been forced to resort to physically tossing him out of the house.

Two hours later he saw him camped out in a rival blanket fort just opposite Sting. On his second favorite couch. It was then he promptly gave up, after observing several tiny guild flags (Sabretooth on Sting's side, Fairy Tail on Natsu's) that had been propped up on each fort.

He'd mumbled something about "fucking man-children" but had left it alone, deciding to take solace in his room.

Only to be blocked by Emzadi, a woman he didn't know well, "Hey, Sparky, I'm taking the guest room with the big bathroom… Hope you don't mind."

He sighed dismissively and shooed her away, "Go for it, Dragon-Blondie, not like I've got the energy to stop you anyway."

Emzadi's brows furrowed, "Dragon-Blondie?"

"I'd call you Blondie, but that's what I call my sister, and that would be weird."

The solar dragon slayer smirked, "Weird how?"

Laxus rolled his eyes, "Look. I'm too old to play this flirty fucking game with you. You're hot, I'm interested, and calling you Blondie would feel like I'm talking to Lucy, and I'd rather keep my comparison's between the both of you to a minimum."

Emzadi nearly purred, "Oh, I do like that direct attitude…. Maybe I should stay in your room tonight, instead? And… you can just call me Emi."

Laxus smirked back at her, taking a step closer and speaking directly in her ear, "Not so sure if that's a good idea with seven other dragons in the house, Emi. But I'll take it under consideration."

She slapped his ass as he walked past and he only growled at her under his breath before moving on, running straight into Kaleb.

'_Careful with that, Laxus. Not sure Emi's even listening to the fact that her dragon wants to claim you… she's had some bad experiences in the past.'_

'_I know that,' _Laxus responded mentally, '_Bix has told me a lot, that's why I'm fighting the urge to tackle her where she stands. I'll be fine until she's ready to deal with it.'_

Kaleb considered this a moment, '_Alright. If that's settled, I'll be taking my leave from the dragon house. I need to inspect the minds of your mages before I go back to White Sea.'_

Speaking aloud, Laxus grunted, "Gramps is gonna be there with you?"

Kaleb gave a nod.

"You let me know what you find, yeah?"

"Of course, I will inform you as soon as we find whoever it was betrayed your guild, and the circumstances surrounding it. You'll inform me of Lucy's condition? We've all grown rather… fond of her. Even if she is rather frustrating."

Laxus laughed despite the serious tone of their conversation, "That's an understatement if I've ever heard one."

Kaleb grinned, "I suppose. Well, I'll be on my way," he said, walking past him down the stairs.

When he was gone, he decided retreating to his room wouldn't actually solve anything, so with an annoyed sigh, he marched back down the stairs.

Everyone had camped around (some of them inside) the opposing guild pillow and blanket forts, talking quietly amongst themselves. Cris's magic must have been working overtime, because all the anxious dragons and Pradesh family members were rather calm while they discussed random topics. Even when the conversation shifted to the details of Lucy's rather busy day, they didn't fall into feral dragon mode.

"You," He said, pointing to Emzadi, "get the room with the bathtub, top of the stairs to the right."

Emi nodded, grinning broadly.

"You and You," He said, pointing to Natsu and Sting, who had poked their heads out when he started talking, "Since you're so fucking juvenile that you made _blanket forts,_" he said it was so much disdain it was nearly palpable, "You get to sleep in them. Congrats."

Much to Laxus's dismay, both of them got excited, chanting "Fuck yes!" and "Sweet! Oh yeah, this is gonna be so much fun!"

Laxus's brow twitched, "That doesn't mean you get to start some kind of fucking fort war, my house is nice, it's doing to stay that way. You hear me?"

They both nodded, but Laxus rubbed his temples anyway. It'd be a goddamn miracle if his house survived.

He pointed to Rogue, "You get that room, right there, and I expect you to fucking pay attention and if shit gets destroyed, kill them or something. Just keep them in line."

Rogue looked to the room the lightning slayer gestured to, just off the main room, "...you know, that's not actually possible. But… I'll do what I can."

Laxus rolled his eyes. What Rogue 'could' do wasn't much, if his attempts at reigning in Sting when he was chasing after Lucy was anything to go by. Still, though, if he assigned Rogue to keep watch he'd have someone to blame besides himself when things went to shit.

"You-"

"I fucking got it, Sparkle Dick. And I appreciate you putting me as far away from the lunatics as possible," Erik responded to the thoughts echoing in Laxus's soul before the lightning slayer was actually able to speak the words.

"Cris, you can stay in the room next to the one Emi is staying in."

The man simply nodded, arms crossed over his chest.

"Gajeel, Wendy, you guys staying too?"

Wendy nodded, only a little shyly, "Your house is closer than Fairy Hill and I want to be on standby in case…"

Everyone tensed, but Cris spoke, "She's going to be fine, you all need to relax. Though, Wendy, I don't think it's a bad idea sticking close by," he conceded. He'd been thinking along the same lines.

Gajeel grunted an affirmative as well.

"Wendy, take the room next to Cobra's. Poison fucker can show you since he's listening in on me. Gajeel, you take the room across from them."

Sighing, he rubbed at his temples again, trying to ease his growing headache, "Anybody else? I'm running out of rooms."

Emzadi spoke up, "Dad and Farron are back in Bosco already, they are dealing with the political and legal issues that have come up… Dad was only able to push back the King on getting answers and taking action until the immediate threat of Fallen Star was dealt with. Now that they are gone... "

Cobra finished her thought, "Now that the problem is fixed, some asshole politicians and fucking nobles are gonna sweep in and either pretend they were the ones who fucking saved the day, or pin all the bad shit on Tink. Arman is trying to convince them not to be dicks."

"...is that… really going to be a problem?"

Cris glared at Sting, "Probably more of one, since all your overkill painted Lucy as an international criminal mastermind."

Sting shrank back a little, "Oh."

Emzadi clapped the light slayer on the back, "Dad's gonna fix it, don't worry. Cris is just being overprotective."

The lunar slayer shrugged.

Vander popped out from the voids, chuckling, "Doesn't mean Starlight won't find her revenge though. You think she hates glitter? She mumbled in her _sleep _about revenge on your overzealous night-light ass."

Sting paled. Rogue grinned. Everyone else just chuckled, enjoying the chance to break some of the tension.

"Anyway, Laxus," Vander began, "I shouldn't think I'll need a place to stay, even while in town. I get all kinds of invitations," he grinned, but then turned serious, "but unfortunately, for now, I have to go. Presca's out on mission alone and if they find out I bailed shit's gonna get unpleasant. Real fucking quick. You'll tell me when Stell-Starlight wakes up?" he cut himself off from using her usual nickname. After what happened in the country of the same name, he didn't imagine she'd appreciate it.

Laxus nodded, "Sure, Van. We'll keep you updated."

With that, Van disappeared into the voids. Bickslow, who'd been mostly silent, sitting in the corner, looked on with a worried green gaze.

"I'm sticking with my normal room here, Laxus," Bix informed the lightning slayer, "Think Ever and Freed are probably coming by later with that same thought, too. Xally had to go back to school, though we had to practically drag her there, and I think Zen is unlikely to leave the infirmary."

"So we're good?"

"Yep, everyone is accounted for," Bickslow confirmed.

"Great. Now. House Rules…"

-:-:-:-:-

Bickslow turned out to be right on two fronts.

One, Zen didn't leave Lucy's side. Two, Bickslow had called it when he told Laxus his house rules were pointless. Because no one listened to them.

Zen, he slept in the bed next to Fairy Tail's celestial mage, talking to her spirits as they jumped in and out of Earthland telling him information, or checking up on Lucy, or just being generally seen. They seemed to know that seeing them - as they were kind of like an extension of Lucy - seemed to put everyone a little more at ease while Lucy was out cold. Well, not cold, really, Zen wouldn't have that. He hovered, constantly checking on her, making sure she had enough blankets, making sure to coat her lips with lip balm so they didn't dry out and crack painfully. Especially the area where her scar split her lip, she'd always told him how sensitive it was.

The first few days, all the dragons had been in and out of her room, trying to pry for information, until Loke had shown up at Laxus's house and angrily asked them to desist. Zen, he was a part of the celestial world, those secrets that he was being told, most of them he couldn't even tell them.

But he knew.

The first time Loke had come out to speak with him had been two days into Lucy's magical coma, and he'd learned almost everything about what had happened that day.

He'd first been told the story of Orion's Stars, and the relationship between a constellation and the entities that represent each star. How they were all practically like family, how the constellations saw their stars much as Lucy saw them. How some stars were granted keys themselves, if they so desired, while others remained keyless, content to live out their days in the celestial realm.

Zen had then been told that Orion's Fallen became Alec, Bruno, and Terra after the fall over their dear friend and comrade Saiph. It was here, that Zen learned of the lopsided laws of celestial magic. He'd vowed to help Lucy change them, no matter what it took, because he would not allow anything like this to happen again.

He'd also thoroughly questioned the lion spirit, made sure there were no other fallen spirits running around that had yet to present themselves. He'd been assured that there were not, to which Zen sighed in relief. He couldn't deal with Lucy doing something stupid again, like opening a powerful gate to the Celestial Realm's Benevolent Gate to save spirits, people whatever, that had been witness and willing participants in her own torture. He knew she was forgiving, but he wasn't sure he could watch her do something like that again.

And he was still pissed off about Betelguese and Tabit getting off so easily. He'd recognized them when he saw them, something that had confused him, but he now had the answer for that, too.

Apparently Archangels could identify unknown spirits on sight. Kind of handy, because Loke had refused to give their names or the locations of their keys in fear that Zen would seek some kind of retribution. At least he knew who to look for if he wanted to pay them back for what they'd forced Lucy to do.

A desire that grew each day that passed without Lucy so much as stirring in her sleep.

Zen, at the end of the day, had learned everything.

Lucy's mother had been tasked with guarding over exiled spirits. Said spirits turned on her, draining her life-force and her energy and taking it into themselves. Layla had then opened the eclipse gate, for… some reason. The spirits were still being vague about that… and the power it took to do so drained the last of her life and she died. Leaving Lucy alone with an emotionally abusive (at the very least… he still wasn't quite positive on whether or not Lucy was abused physically as a child, she did have more than a few questionable scars) father to grow up in a household by herself, and leaving Orion's Fallen trapped in their keys and changed by the human energy they'd taken in. Their loose ties to Lucy had them growing in strength as she did, and eventually they were able to expel themselves from their gates (finding themselves in the abandoned Heartfilia Estate), willing to wait out their sentence of treason until Lucy died. Then, the oh-so-high-and-mighty Spirit King adopted Lucy, without her permission, and made her… effectively… immortal (something Zen was still trying to wrap his mind around) and the spirits felt they were forced to make a move to remove themselves from her bloodline fealty and cleanse them of their sins. So they tortured Lucy to get what they wanted, and when she was too stubborn to give in, they decided her death would be acceptable, they'd find her key when it was formed and force her to perform the task they wanted using the very laws they'd originally rebelled against to their advantage.

Then, of course, that had failed when Makarov sent them running from Fairy Law, and Lucy went into hiding. They'd chased her spirits around, doing much the same as Kaleb had, for that entire year, until Alec - Alnilam - had gotten an idea. He couldn't open a gate to the _celestial _world, but he could do so on Earthland, from one place to another. He'd spent six months working that out, until finally, he learned he could actually do so if he had a solid lock on her magic. _Hers, _not her spirits, and he also discovered it was extremely taxing on his body - and used Layla's energy - to do so. He put himself at risk trying to hop from gate to gate, but he'd been… mad. Crazy. Beyond saving already, so he walked his way to Stella, murdered a village to get her attention, and locked onto her magic as it spiked through the roof in response to the carnage she witnessed.

He must have realized he didn't have more than one chance at opening a celestial gate to get her - Layla's energy within him was dangerously low - and so he walked back to the Konzern before enacting his plan.

Alni hadn't expected Lucy's magic to be strong enough to break through the celestial runes, nor had he really anticipated how much she'd improved overall, because she made quick work of him.

She'd have been happy, safe, and awake if it weren't for the fact that she desired to save Betel and Tabit. She'd supplied entirely too much energy into opening that cleansing, Benevolent Gate, and now, she was in a magical coma until she recovered. Magically and Physically, her body was exhausted.

Zen had found that he was… beyond frustrated with how little he could tell his anxious family and hers. They learned the general information the following day, nothing specific. He was glad, though, that he'd been able to speak with Freed about it, and that the King and Loke had agreed that Kaleb and Erik couldn't actually be stopped from knowing, so he could speak with them as well.

The other dragons had been… livid… but accepted it. This wasn't the first time celestial law kept them in the dark, and if Lucy stayed in their lives (she was kin, so that wasn't likely to change) they'd probably face that fact again. With Lucy's penchant for getting into trouble? It would be sooner than later.

On that third day, Kaleb had actually had information for him in return, along with the rest of them.

He'd found the 'traitor', and it had taken him all three days to do so. And what he found both unsettled them, as well as put them at ease.

Lisanna had been devastated to know she'd been the leak. And she hadn't even been aware, hadn't had a clue.

She sat down in front of him, all smiles, and started small talk. He'd smiled back, thinking for once he wasn't going to have to deal with a defensive, or drunk, or delirious Fairy Tail mage, and instead got to deal with someone pleasant.

Looking into her mind, though, his brow furrowed, "Where were you during the attack, Lisanna?"

He'd asked it hoping to pull the memory to the forefront of her mind, as he'd not been able to find it, only to realize she couldn't find it either, "I… I don't know…" it was a whisper.

Before the attack, she'd been tending bar with Mira. She remembered Lucy telling her to get to the infirmary and get it set up, and she remembered starting to take an inventory of all their supplies frantically before her mind just went… blank. She didn't remember anything else at all until she found herself walking into the courtyard and running toward her poisoned sister.

It had been so frantic that day she'd never given it more thought.

She clamped a hand over her mouth, "Does…. Does that mean… it was _my fault?_"

He shook his head, "I… I don't think you are to blame, Ms. Strauss. Please, close your eyes and trust me, I have to dig deeper."

As tears spilled down her cheeks, she nodded, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath.

What Kaleb found had him fighting off his own rage. Because she'd been manipulated by a Fioran mindbender mage, someone who used his own magic. It was rare, and the man hadn't had nearly as much control or skill with his magic as Kaleb did, but he'd been able to pull the information from her mind, plant the idea of escaping the guild, and then pulled every memory she had of him before that moment from her mind and locked it away completely.

When Kaleb had unlocked it and she _remembered, _she'd screamed.

And not just because she had caused Lucy and her guildmates so much pain. That was part of it, but it was also because that mindbender mage had been her _boyfriend of the last year. _A brown-eyed, burly man that had joined Fairy Tail shortly after the attack.

Apparently, the only reason she'd escaped the attack herself was because he'd assumed she would die if she was inside with the others, and he had struck a deal with Fallen Star to get her out beforehand in exchange for his talents, because he'd taken some sick liking to her after he'd dove into her mind.

Kaleb had promptly stood, strode over to said mage - who'd been quietly drinking a beer - and pinned him to the bar as he dove ruthlessly into the man's mind. Justin, what he'd been going by in the guild, was a fake name, just as he'd been playing at being a requip mage (something he was not excessively good at, but he could do) to avoid detection. His real name was Collin, and his mind was… fucked up, to say the least. He'd been manipulating Lisanna for a year, forcing her mind to believe she cared for him when she really had no desire to be with him.

That man had met the Rune Knights an hour later, and was significantly less… able-minded than when he'd first met Kaleb.

Lisanna, even still, two months later, was broken up over it. Mira, Elfman, and Evergreen had been taking turns dragging her to therapy, and slowly, she was getting better. She felt violated, which she truly had been, and on top of that felt consuming grief and guilt over what Lucy had been through because she'd not been able to stop Collin from using her.

She spent nearly as much time at Lucy's bedside as Zen did. More even than her dragon kin.

-:-:-:-:-

Two months and three days after Lucy's 144th Kidnapping found Zen sitting alone at her bedside, asleep with his head resting against her mattress and his hand clutching her own.

"Psst…"

Zen could have swore he heard something as he woke from his slumber. Then again, he'd been waking up randomly for two months to study her face, certain she'd woken up, just to realize he was wrong. So he decided it was likely happening again, and just sighed as he readjusted, gripped her hand a little bit more tightly, and closed his eyes to sleep again. He couldn't bring himself to fall into the other bed at his side.

"Hey…. Hey you…"

Okay, now he was sure he was hearing things, but he lifted his head slowly to look around. The voice wasn't one he recognized, it was rough, husky, but feminine.

"Not sure who you are… Can you get me some water…?"

Zen stood up abruptly and studied her face, only to find that… Lucy's eyes were open… She was giving him a small smile… she was… awake.

She was AWAKE!

But… she… didn't know him?

"Oh… oh no…" his soft voice mumbled, mostly to himself, "she… doesn't know me…?"

"Wait, Zen?" she asked, still talking out of that raspy voice he didn't really recognize. She coughed, "...water…"

He rushed to get her what she'd asked for just as his whole being flooded with relief, and helped her sit up as she drank it. He… wasn't sure what to do, how to greet her, so he just stood there awkwardly as she finished the drink. He took the cup from her once she was done, and she cleared her throat.

"Zen," she said, a bright smile lifting her face. She lifted her arms to him, an invitation.

One he readily accepted, practically jumping into her arms and burying his face in her neck as he squeezed her tightly, "Lucy…"

"Zen, I'm...I'm sorry," she choked out, biting back joyous laughter at having the man she was now sure she loved securely in her arms.

He pulled back just enough to glare at her, but pulled her into his lap all the same, "Yeah, that wasn't funny," he said disapprovingly, as he ran his fingers through her hair tenderly even as his glare intensified.

The contrasting actions had her unable to contain her laughter, "What do you mean, it wasn't funny? What wasn't funny?" she asked in between loud guffaws.

His glare intensified as he pulled her closer, his hold almost painfully tight, "Pretending you didn't know me… I almost had a heart attack."

She laughed harder, and lifted her head to kiss his jaw, "You're so dumb. Jumping to conclusions. It's _dark, _genius, and your head was buried in my mattress. Of course I didn't recognize you!"

He huffed, but… had to admit she did have a point. He pulled her close, a hand cupping her cheek as he directed her lips to his own. The kiss was desperate, wanting, and overwhelmingly relieved. She had to admit, though she thought their first kiss was perfect, this was so much better. She kissed him back enthusiastically, grabbing at the nape of his neck to keep him exactly where he was.

"Oi, this is great and all, but maybe tell us our sleepy fucking kin is awake from her two-month coma before you jump her, will ya?"

Erik's voice broke their trance, and as he flicked the infirmary lights on to reveal all her sleepy dragon kin excitedly bounding into the room along with Gray and Erza, she squealed, holding out her hands while still on Zen's lap.

Zen found that he very much did not like being on the bottom of the dog pile. But at the same time, found that as long as his arms were around Lucy, he could bear it.

They stayed like that for what felt like an eternity, before Lucy seemed to catch on to something Erik had said…

"Wait…" she said, her voice muffled in Laxus's broad chest, "Did you say two fucking months?!"


	49. Chapter 49

**Hello! Got inspired today, finally, putting this out there. I will most likely NOT be doing a part two to this story, looking back, I have several places where I'm not meshing right, things don't work quite the way I would like them to and there are none of the litany of characters in here that I would like to play with after speaking with some other authors. I will likely pick up parts of the new plotline as I work through this and change things up a bit.**

**Thank you SO MUCH for sticking with me, I should wrap this up in the next few chapters, leaving just a few bits there at the end not finalized because... some of that mystery really makes a story great, means you can draw some of your own conclusions but DON'T WORRY, yes... Lucy's revenge will still be had.**

**Love you all so much and I hope you enjoy this next little bit.**

**As always, Desna owns the Pradesh Family and the wonderful expanded Boscan Universe, Hiro Mashima owns everything else.**

**Enjoy!**

**-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-**

**Chapter 49: Those Quiet Moments**

Lucy leaned back against Zen and sighed, eyes closed and just enjoying the feel of the sun on her face, "So… what now?"

Zen looked down at her and frowned, "I… cannot leave my family Lucy, not after I just found them. And I can't ask you to leave yours."

Lucy sighed heavily. It had been a week since she woke up and things were slowly returning to normal. Natsu had fallen back into his normal routine, though the brawls had reduced. He was a more mature person these days, but it wasn't all totally gone, he still… couldn't help himself when it came to punching Gray and Gray? He always hit back. And sometimes hit first. They just tried to do it more in the training area now.

Erza had been by Lucy's side frequently, and as Lucy got strong enough again, they often trained together. The Knight had been incredibly impressed and she had said so, multiple times. She was _proud _of Lucy, and Lucy was just about jumping for joy about that.

Vander had been in the hall exactly once since she woke, just to check in before he had to rush back for work. Kaleb was in and out, he did have a guild to run, but he made a point to have Thane jump him every few days to be with Zen and to check on Lucy, and to check Lisanna's mental state, who continued to improve. Bickslow was happily enjoying time with… everyone, and Lucy couldn't be happier for him. He finally had his family and his guild family and he didn't have to choose, really. Things were… good. Emzadi, Erik, Gajeel, Wendy, Cristoff, Ryos, Sting, Yukino and their little girl, Laxus, and Natsu had been hovering. A lot. And while Lucy thought it was… slightly irritating she did enjoy the time she spent with Yukino and playing with the baby, and she did love her dragon kin, even if they were annoying. Xally stopped by once, checking on Lucy for herself, but couldn't stay long and Farron and Arman checked in via com every day without fail.

All of those people cared for her and she… didn't really know what to do. But… Fairy Tail was her home. Zen might be the one she loved but Fairy Tail was her family, just as his siblings were his, and after a week of discussing it they were no closer to a decision.

"So… you think we should… try long distance, then?" Lucy asked him, looking up to his features while they sat on the roof of the guild hall, under the stars.

He sighed heavily, "I don't think there's another good option, Lucy. Too many people will get hurt if either of us leaves our home.."

Lucy frowned at that, "What about the bond?"

The former gladiator seemed to consider that while he rubbed hands up and down her arms, "I'm not sure what'll happen. But I'll visit whenever I can, I know my siblings will too, and we can drag you to Bosco at least once a week to spend time with us. It… could work. Has to."

The celestial mage sighed, shrugging, "I… guess you're right. I just don't like the thought of living so far from you."

Zen nuzzled into her neck from behind and sighed, "I don't like it either," he admitted, "but this is our only option right now. We'll figure out what happens in the future, but for now… we each need to be with our families. It's important."

She nodded, "...right. You're not wrong, I agree... " she said softly, leaning further into him and forcing herself to relax as much as she could as her eyes drifted closed with a quiet sigh.

-:-:-:-:-:-

A few months into the 'long distance situation' and Lucy? She thought she was doing pretty well. She'd been traveling at least once a week to Bosco and her com had been on her… constantly, and with the frequent messages and the constant training she kept herself busy enough not to notice when she was apart from Zen for too long, and Zen, for as much as he missed Lucy… was happy being with the family he'd been denied for so long. They tended to spend a few hours alone together when she arrived before meeting up with the rest of the Pradesh family, whoever was in town that week, to watch old movies and binge on popcorn, sometimes (most of the time) it ending up either in a cuddle pile on the floor or an epic pillow fight.

It was something special for Lucy, different than Fairy Tail, quieter and more intimate, more… personal and Lucy found herself really enjoying the sense of family she'd found with them.

So it was that night as Lucy lay there, curled up against Zen's chest as they watched a film on the Lacrima Screen that she decided she'd spend more time there, with them… and step back on the constant training a bit, she needed _time _and finally she was getting some, no more evil, no more… terrible things knocking on her door, and she knew… that wouldn't last so for now? She planned to enjoy herself.

"What are you thinking about?" Zen asked, looking down at her as he curled against her, Arman at his side leaning back, legs crossed as he sipped his scotch, looking for all the world like he wasn't paying attention… not that _that_ meant anything for the sound mage.

"Just… thinking I should spend more time here," she admitted, "Don't need to have these big grand meetings every time but… maybe split my time more evenly? White Sea… I could join provisionally, maybe," she mused.

Kaleb arched a brow at her from the recliner, "Possible, it hasn't really… happened before but Fairy Tail is a Fioran Guild, White Sea doesn't have current ties to Fiore… I can't just give you dual membership in both guilds, the magic doesn't work that way, the Guildmark I put on you would overwrite the Fairy," he said, "However… we work well with Fairy Tail, have ever since they took in Bixy, maybe they'd consider falling in with us, sistering the guilds and making Fairy Tail our branch in that nation."

"Really?" Lucy smiled, "I mean, you'll have to convince Master Makarov and Laxus, they're pretty stubborn and the guild is really, really important to them… not sure they'll just accept becoming part of White Sea…"

"There's a lot of benefit for them, really, the backing of four thousand mages and branches across the nation, financial benefits, it's really good support for mages starting out, opportunities for education Fioran mages just would never have without it," Kaleb said, humming, "And they would in all ways still… be Fairy Tail, just with international support."

"That's a good point," Farron said, walking in as he pulled his tie loose and removed the band from his hair, "They may go for it… maybe speak with Ms. Mirajane first, get her on board," he smirked a bit, "Then? It'll be an easy job convincing them."

Lucy snorted, "...that's true. Mirajane is SCARY when she wants to be."

Kaleb pulled out his com and blinked when Cristoff snatched it, "Nope, not working right now," he said, "It's family night and the food smells done," he said, Mr. Elan indicating the same thing from the kitchen as the slayer grinned, "Told you."

Lucy smiled warmly at them as she made her way to standing, "If you want to sister Fairy Tail… I really think it would be good for them, now I think about it."

"Of course. If it was just about you I wouldn't offer it, White Sea having some level of political influence in Fiore? Would be a great things for mages across that entire nation," Kaleb said, trailing his family as they all moved into the dining room, a snapping sound coming from the kitchen followed by a yelp that sounded remarkably like Bickslow.

"Stop trying to sneak food!" Mr. Elan's voice was heard followed by a muffled apology as the seith mage met them in the dining room, the chef following him bringing out plates.

Lucy shook her head as she grinned, "Never learn, do you Bix?"

"I learn plenty," Bickslow protested, putting a hand to his chest, "It's just… it's so good…" he said grinning, earning another smack to the back of the head that had him ducking down and sitting.

Arman smiled faintly as he sat at the head of the table, the movie going on in the other room honestly just… forgotten to conversation, "Well it sounds like you're all going to be very busy… and it's a good time, too, Fiore's been… off," he admitted, trailing off when his com went off and let out a quiet sigh, "If you'll excuse me."

The ambassador stood, moving just out of the room to have his conversation but both Farron and Cristoff tensed, their gaze following their father, Kaleb blinking a moment later with a furrowed brow as he looked at the doorway.

"What?" Lucy asked, blinking and looking around the table, slowly arching a scarred eyebrow.

"Something's going on in Fiore," Farron said quietly, pulling out his own com to type on it quickly.

"Okay… _What _is going on in Fiore? Is everyone safe?" Lucy asked, slowly moving to stand but Farron held a hand up, "Everyone's safe for now, hold on," he said, Cristoff narrowing his eyes slightly but everyone falling into a somewhat tense silence while Arman continued his phone call, running a hand through his dark but silver streaked hair as he let out a sigh and put his com away, slowly returning to the table.

"You may need to postpone your plans for sisterhood between White Sea and Fairy Tail," Arman spoke finally, taking a seat, "It seems the princess was found… poisoned. They are claiming they have an energy mage confirming dragon magic… matching Cobra's. They've disbanded Fairy Tail officially and dragon slayers have been ordered executed if found in the country's borders within the next twenty-four hours, Cobra specifically has an arrest warrant issued in his name, the former pardon he'd received has been rescinded."


	50. Chapter 50

**Hello Lovelies! And welcome to... the final chapter. 0.0  
****After much, much, much time, effort, frustration, rewriting... we're finally at the end, this is the very last chapter in the main storyline and the last I will be writing in this universe with this development set. I had a lot of fun writing but at the end of the day... I'm ready to move onto new projects.**

**Love you all, I hope you like it.**

**As always, Fairy Tail and all it's characters belong to Hiro Mashima. Desna owns the Pradesh folks and the expanded Boscan universe, Seven, Kittar the displacer mage and... well... a lot more. Gotta shout out to a few others as well. MrsPuppetEx, Therashae, NightmareSenshi, AwesomeMedic, and a few others that have really contributed to the lore and universe that has made up Pradeshverse as we know it. They've helped me personally a lot and beyond that, have helped create a world full of adventures for us to explore from the culture and government of Stella, to the desert sands and tribes of Desierto, details that really... bring the world to life. Another huge thank you to GoddessxNyte for her help in editing my chapters, guiding and encouraging me when it looked like finishing the story was impossible.**

**Lastly, thanks to all of you for sticking with me!**

**Enjoy!  
-Starry  
**

**-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-**

**Chapter 50: Gathering Family**

"Wh...what?" Lucy blinked slowly, staring at the ambassador like he was crazy. She'd assume he was lying but… Zen was right there, so that wasn't exactly possible.

"Hisui is gone, Lucy, dead, and they believe Cobra did it. Dragon Slayers are being hunted," Arman said quietly, shaking his head.

"That can't happen! We have to _do _someth-" Lucy cut off when she felt Zen's hand on her shoulder and Farron lifted his own, "Lucy, relax… we aren't going to let it happen," he said calmly as he continued working on his own com with one hand, putting it to his ear after another moment and having a conversation with someone for a few moments.

The celestial mage rubbed her temple, slowly relaxing and leaning back in her chair as she waited, "Why do they think it's Cobra?"

"His magic was found at the scene," Arman said quietly, "Confirmed by an energy mage Bosco sent to Fiore to assist them in locating the culprit," the ambassador resumed his seat, waving to Mr. Elan to bring the food, "It's fine, Mr. Elan… we need to eat and they will be safe."

The chef nodded, bringing the rest of the food out and getting it settled before he and his wife moved back into the kitchen, getting the finishing touches on the dessert done.

"How do you know they'll be safe?" Cristoff asked, frowning a little before he glanced to Farron and blinked, relaxing, "Oh."

"I am really starting to hate that my hearing is at a normal human level," Lucy whined a little bit, sighing, "What's going on?"

"Farron is working with the Sevenese Consulate… Seven is the dragon kingdom and since the Black Queen Kressa's fall three years ago? They've been a strong ally to Bosco, they have in interest in moving to sanction Fiore for the new law, and to send aid to the dragon slayers that need to flee the nation," Kaleb supplied, lips in a thin line as he exchanged messages with Thane about ensuring enough apartments were available in the guild, making plans for teams to send into Fiore if they needed to go extract the mages.

"The moment the law was enacted Bosco pulled all alliance with Fiore, our energy mage is back this side of the border already and so Cobra hasn't been located by the monarchy yet," Farron said, putting his com lacrima down and smiling, "And he won't be. King Nuryev, as we expected, was sympathetic and quick to action. They have a displacement mage, they can move… anything, large groups of people large distances without any issue, just displace them right into a new location… the King sent him, General Rickter is on his way here as well, planning to stay a few weeks to liaise between Bosco and Seven on our actions with Fiore going forward."

Lucy blinked between them all, staring just a bit before she smiled and shook her head, letting out a sigh, "I… don't know why I worry about anything around here… you guys are on top of it, always."

Arman smiled, "We work hard, my dear, so the world we live in is just a little bit safer. That… and the dragon slayers there are your family and Bickslow's, you are our family, and we'd go a long way to protect them."

Lucy smiled and nodded, taking a bite of food slowly when Mr. Elan popped out from the kitchen waving a spatula at all of them, "EAT!"

"Yes, sir," came mumbled replies as everyone started eating.

The meal was quiet until Farron's com buzzed again and he smiled, checking it, "...they got them. All of the dragon slayers are out of Fiore. Kittar, the displacer, he's taking them to the Palerno branch."

Cristoff stood smiling, "I'm going, they may have injuries," he said, breezing through the kitchen on his way out and snatching cookies while Lucy blinked, "I… uhm…"

Zen smiled and stood, pulling Lucy to her feet, "Come on. We can go meet them, they'll be looking for answers as to why they had to be pulled out, right?"

The celestial nodded and gave him a smile, "Yeah… can at least explain why… for now… until we figure out how to get them home."

-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-

It took them about fifteen minutes to fly from the estate to the guild hall, Zen setting Lucy down on the balcony to the apartment he kept in the guild when they got there and the woman took a slow breath, "...they… aren't going to be happy, are they?"

"I imagine not," Zen said calmly, "Getting taken from your home without being given choices isn't exactly a fun situation to be in."

"...yeah I know," Lucy said, kicking her feet a bit before heading into the apartment, blinking as she looked around at the tidy but comfortable apartment, "I don't know what I expected," she admitted, "But brown leather and soft blankets wasn't it."

"Comforts I never had," Zen said, moving past her and gripping her hand lightly as he led her toward the door smirking a bit, "We can come back here later," he said, "Right now we need to see your friends, Lucy."

Lucy blinked and then blushed, "Right! Friends… important," she said, moving with Zen through the apartment and out of it, down the stairs.

As they approached the hall the sounds of growling got louder and Lucy frowned, rubbing her forehead, "...this can't be good."

They entered the spacious guildhall of White Sea, Lucy looking around blinking as she recognized seven of the slayers there scowling, Cristoff smiling at them as he talked them through what happened, healing over a wound on Sting that Natsu had delivered in the brawl that preceded their jump to Palerno.

A dark haired man with… panther ears and a tail was leaning against a pillar, deep red eyes amused as his lips quirked into a slight smirk, the man crossing his well built arms over his muscled chest, simply watching them.

Lucy blinked as she looked around and moved to join the group, looking everyone over for injuries as she frowned, Zen standing at the bar now out of the way to keep an eye on them.

Laxus growled, "What the fuck, blondie? Why'd you have them bring us here? Fairy Tail, Magnolia, that's our fuckin' home, we can fight to stay there," he said, peircing blue eyes narrowed and Lucy elbowed him, "Not likely, Laxus…"

Natsu pouted, "Why the hell not? We've beaten all our foes before, this is no different!"

"It _is _different," Ryos said quietly, but offered no other explanation until Sting kicked him in the shin, "How so? Don't do that stupid quiet stuff where you just say three words and expect me to understand it," he glowered.

There was a quiet sigh before Yukino reached up, gripping Sting's ear and tugging, the slayer letting out a yelp as he went dramatically limp, "Owwww."

Ryos glared at the white slayer as he rubbed his shin.

"Anyway…" Cristoff smiled, "As I was saying, the law… well… Fairy Tail has been legally disbanded. Any action you take will get you arrested, other nations stand with you now, you've not done anything, but if you start breaking legitimate laws and causing mayhem…" he trailed off.

Gajeel grunted, leaning against another pillar scowling as he pried a screw loose from the shelf next to him and ate it.

Cobra scowled, "I didn't fucking touch that stupid bitch," he growled, eyes narrowed as he leaned against the wall… still very clearly not comfortable being inside of White Sea but Thane was standing next to him, carefully placing a guild seal on his shoulder while the man had his jacket half shrugged off.

"I know you didn't," Lucy said, smiling at him, "You wouldn't do that. Just means something went wrong… you were framed for something."

Cobra growled again, baring fangs but he looked away, "Whatever."

Lucy sighed and ran a hand through her hair, "Right… well… anyway… while we sort this out, we should… stay here. We all can, I imagine a good portion of Fairy Tail will make their way here… or to Lamia or Blue Pegasus."

Laxus grunted, "Maybe… Gramps doesn't seem inclined to leave the damned guildhall but I wasn't given a damn choice," he growled at the displacer mage who was still smirking, ears twitching a bit, "Not ma fault, orders 're orders," he said, purring.

The lightning slayer narrowed his eyes and sparked slightly before Kaleb was walking in, Arman and Farron with Arman's assistant right behind them, "Calm. Down."

Cristoff smiled, magic reaching to relax the slayers in the room and he shook his head, eyes shifting to his brothers and father as he tilted his head.

"We're working on this legally, for now," Arman said quietly, but his voice carried and his face clearly stated it wasn't up for debate, "We will keep you updated on progress… for now? Emzadi is on her way home… and with this many of you…"

Wendy blinked, peeking out from behind Natsu with her brow furrowed, "Oh."

The lunar slayer stretched, dark hair falling over his shoulders as he let out a soft sigh, "With this many of us… we need to establish a tatsu."

-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-

Turns out… establishing a tatsu is a lot less… peaceful than one would expect of a ceremony to create what is essentially a family. The slayers had all moved, quickly, toward the training rings and they'd spent the next three weeks… fighting. Wendy was the first, she had to fight, her dragon pushed her straight into dragonforce and the girl had launched in, fought with all she had, no choice, her dragon had pushed her to challenge the other dragoness for queenhood but Emzadi met her blow for blow and more, putting her to the ground and forcing the submission she needed from the sky slayer, watching as she slowly returned to herself and her dragon receded again. Once she was established as queen the males started in, everyone had to fight her more than once and when she'd proven she could stand her own, proven to each of them that she could stand and protect the tatsu, be the last line of defense against anyone after the family, after the future hatchlings they may have.

Lucy had watched it all, sitting in the bleachers of the training rings and running things, helping Cristoff with caring for the injured when they were out of the fight, making sure everyone ate between their bouts with the queen testing her metal and when all the males had gone toe to toe with Emzadi and submitted she had been certain it would be done… but it wasn't.

The males fought each other, then, because dragons and dragon slayers can't coexist without establishing a hierarchy and the Alpha male needed to be established. Ryos had been the first to submit to the others, his dragon fairly quiet and reserved, deadly but not needlessly aggressive and shortly after Natsu had pulled out, having over exerted himself in his previous fights. Sting had lasted a while longer but ultimately fell victim to Cristoff, who managed to catch his gaze and put him to sleep.

Gajeel was stubborn, outclassed at that point but he kept fighting until he just… couldn't, taking Cobra out just before he lost himself, and then… Laxus and Cristoff had been the last two in the rings… three full days they fought until Laxus ultimately lost, Cristoff taking the mantle of Alpha.

When it was all said and done the slayers left the rings exhausted… but happy, settled, all of them feeling their dragon souls calmer than normal because they were stable, in a secure unit and had each other, something none of them had really quite gotten before, being in families themselves but their dragon souls itching to settle in with their own kind but never managing. In Fairy Tail, Wendy was too young and with Sabretooth and with Emzadi and Cristoff, there just weren't enough slayers there to calm each other.

Lucy stared at the… utter destruction that was the training ring and the four surrounding it, taking a breath, "It's… done… I don't think… they're going back to Fiore," she admitted quietly, "Not after that… they… look like they're home."

An elegant man appeared, long dark hair down his back, glowing gold eyes locking onto her, "Yes… indeed, they are. My children have settled into a family… they will not seperate now."

Zen, sitting next to Lucy stopped and stared for a moment, "Draco?"

The man smiled, taking a seat and looking out at the rings with them, "Yes, Zen. It's nice to see you. I was… sorry to lose your mother," he admitted, "She was a good keyholder, but… such is the way of the fates sometimes. Cruel."

Lucy blinked, squeezing Zen's hand as he took a slow breath and closed his eyes, all three of them going silent for a moment.

Finally, after several long minutes of tense silence Draco hummed, "You need to understand sometimes bad things happen for good things to happen later," he said calmly, "Your mother's sacrifice saved you, the bomb she died in opened your wings, brought your magic back to the plane, Zen. You were imprisoned, but that imprisonment made you strong, unstoppable, capable of most anything and now you can lead the Triad of Archangels when they awaken… prepare the world once more for the dark things in the world already prodding at gates long sealed. Lucy, you've endured quite a bit but you gained the favor of the Spirit King in the process, the favor of all thirteen of the Zodiac and the ability to protect the people you love. This? Is just another trial, the death of the Fioran princess to see dragons walking the earth again. Slayers, of course… but dragons all the same, and the success of this tatsu will lure those still hiding out once more, bring about the death of the black dragon Acnologia and free the wild dragons of the world to fill the skies once more."

"You… that's… that makes sense," she admitted quietly, shaking her head but Zen… smiled, "I know. I've… known that since I came home, that's… the only way I could figure out how to be okay with everything."

Lucy looked between the two and nodded and then took a breath, eyeing Draco, "So… why are you here?"

The spirit smiled softly, "I came to tell you… to settle here. I've been given leave to tell you that much, because you are stubborn, your whole guild is and while it is admirable… the gods would not see you dying uselessly. Tell Laxus… the heart is safe. That… will settle your family, the tatsu here will solidify and prosper and… when the time comes for the next trial of life… you'll all be ready."

Draco stood, straightening his jacket once more before he vanished in a puff of stardust before any further questions could be asked.

Lucy took a slow breath, watching as the last of the motes faded before she leaned into Zen, "...I think… that means our long distance thing is over."

Zen blinked and then pulled her to him, settling her in his lap as he cupped her face and pulled her into a deep kiss, "You… it does… if you're staying? It means I don't have to keep watching you leave me…" he said, disbelief on his face but hope there, too.

"Yeah… I'm… I'm staying," the celestial answered, grinning now as she looked into those beautiful dark purple eyes that always captivated her, "Because… my family is here… all of them, the ones that aren't yet… they'll come soon and you…" she kissed him again, "_You _are here… and I want to be with you, my heart… feels like it's already yours. I love you. I always will… and I don't see any obstacle standing in our way right now."

Zen stared at her for a long moment, knowing she couldn't lie, no one could lie to him, knowing even if she could she never would and just… letting the words wash over him, "I love you too…"

He shook his head, "Lucy, I've loved you since I saw you across the stadium in Peregrande…" he said, setting her on her feet and pushing her back a step as he sank to his knee, "I'm… a simple guy, I know that, and I'm sorry it's not fancy and it's not over the top planned and perfect but… it's what I am, what I have to offer you. Lucy," he spoke her name quietly as he pulled out a small box from his pocket, holding it up to her and opening it to reveal a golden band surrounded, the center stone surrounded in an intricate star pattern, "Will you… be my wife? It hasn't been long, I know that, but… I want you so bad it hurts some days, I crave your touch, you voice, even, like I used to crave water when I wasn't given any… and I promise you, if you give me the chance… I'll make you happy. I waited, I wasn't going to pressure you, not when you had family who needed you, barriers of your own, not when it was a choice between me and the rest of the people you care for… but now, you're… free. Free to choose. Will you marry me?"

Lucy's magic rose to the surface, waiting to lock the promise in place, lock the contract in and she covered her mouth with her hand, staring at him for a long moment before bypassing the ring in favor of tackling him in a hug and straddling him, drawing the man into a long, sweet kiss, "Yes… forever, always, and after that… yes," she confirmed between kisses as Zen ran hands up to her back and held her tight.

As the words were spoken golden magic glowed around the two, the Evening Star and the Starbringer beginning their forever on an unbreakable promise.

The End

**P.S... look for the epilogue... because Lucy did promise revenge... and a celestial mage always keeps her promises.**


	51. Chapter 51

**So... the time has come... this is the end. I have a feeling several of you are going to be disappointed in how this turn of events happened but I did it for a reason. This is **_**real, **_**as real as I could make it and so... real life doesn't have happy tied up endings and you can't always tear a whole country to pieces when they do something that makes you crazy, that hurts you, this is what happened to Bickslow and why it took him years to get back home, even with his father pushing at every step of the way to get the ban on Seith Mages removed. **

**The good news is... this was always meant to happen... and don't worry... they'll all be happy, they will build and grow and have full lives, I just won't be showing you. From here? The story is yours to fill in the blanks. **

**I'm moving on, working on new and better things, taking some of these ideas and expanding on them in an entirely new universe, maybe several universes and at the end of the day... I'm proud of what I did here, this **_**is **_**the first full length chapter fanfiction I've completed and from here out will ONLY be improvements.**

**I love you all, thank you SO MUCH for coming on this journey with me, for commenting and liking and following and telling me where I'm going right and wrong and really getting into the world I set up. I can't tell you how grateful I am that you did, it's given me a lot of confidence in my writing when before... I had none.**

**Love you all! I hope you enjoyed the story and I hope you stay tuned for the new stuff I've got cooking!**

**Enjoy!**

**-Starry**

-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-

**Chapter 51: Epilogue**

Lucy had promised herself… one day… that she would get revenge on Sting… and revenge on Vander… and today? Today was that day.

Ganier was down for her nap, the little blonde toddler was a happy kid and had been since she was born, dark purple eyes all her father's despite the fact that otherwise she looked just like her mom and had just about as much energy as the both of them combined, which was saying something and so Lucy's pranking had been… postponed. But today? Today was the day she FINALLY was going to get her revenge.

She started with Sting, finding him in the guild and casually speaking with him and Yukino, just enjoying a lunch but… very much using it as an excuse to get close… or for Gemini to.

"How's Julius?" Lucy asked, tilting her head a bit and Yukino grinned, "He's amazing, Lucy… just like his dad… but it seems like he's a bit more reasonable," she laughed, "Quieter."

"I believe you," Lucy smiled, "Ganier… may have a crush… Zen doesn't like it but he'll be fine," she grinned as she took a bite of food, looking over to a pouting Sting, "What?"

"I'm perfectly reasonable," he argued, glaring slightly at his wife who just arched a brow and the slayer sighed, "Fine… okay… so maybe you have a point," he said, returning to… the food on the fifteen plates stacked in front of him.

Lucy giggled, "Right… so reasonable," she snorted, looking back at Yukino as she finished her meal, "Alright… well it's been fun… I really only had time for a quick lunch but thank you so much for meeting me…" she winked at Yukino before leaving, the woman escaping the hall quickly, Sting blinking after her with slightly narrowed eyes before his wife… pulled him into a kiss to distract him.

The blonde haired celestial mage was downright _cackling _as she left the guild hall… and Gemini appeared… looking exactly like Sting… as they started walking around the city, flirting with every woman and man they came across.

Lucy… took a video, grinning a bit as she sent it off to Yukino.

Lucy to Yukino - _Video File attached._ Give him hell. I've got those chocolates I made for your reward after you let him off the hook. Have fun!

Yukino to Lucy - Got it! Oh man this is perfect… not at all a bad deal for me, watching him squirm sometimes is amusing.

Lucy laughed as she skipped down the street for her second lunch date… with Vander, who was in town after his last long job and had agreed to meet for a quick lunch to discuss the revenge she was going to get on Sting, the man had seemed excited because she'd agreed to let him glitter bomb Sting's gym locker.

She walked into the little cafe, spotting a wickedly smirking Vander flirting with a woman passing by who was clearly interested and half climbing into his lap. Lucy snorted as she approached and took a seat, not interrupting at all.

"Okay… your company is here," the woman laughed, "Wicked thing, I'll see you later… right?"

"Sure thing," Vander grinned, winking, "I'll call you when I'm done here," he said as she climbed off of him reluctantly, the man smiling at Lucy when she pulled herself toward a group of friends that were all whispering and groaning, eyeing Vander.

"Well… I see you've been here a minute," Lucy snorted as she got settled and Vander nodded, "Just one, got here about a minute before you did… I just work fast," he smirked.

"Yeah? Slow and high quality is more my style," she grinned and Vander laughed, "You calling Zen slow?"

Lucy blushed, "...no… damnit, Vander," she grumbled, putting in an order for her drink when the waiter approached, blushing, the shadowquip smiling at the man, "Cherry coke float, yes please…" he practically purred, eyes trailing up and down the man who… went redder and hurried away.

"_Anyway_…" Lucy cleared her throat and took a breath, "Glitter. Sting needs glittered."

"Yesssssss… yes he does," Vander grinned, leaning forward in his seat, "You're really okay with this? Aren't you friends with his wife?"

She smiled, "Yeah, I am, I already talked to her. She plans on going shopping tomorrow so you have free reign… just be careful, he bugs the fuck out of Laxus when he's bored and he's always bored when Yuki is out… and if you sparkle Laxus…"

"If you sparkle Sparkles he's gonna fry your ass," Cobra said, growling as he walked past them both and found his own seat in the corner, "And I'm not okay dealing with the buff fucking pikachu on a rampage so… don't."

Vander's eyes trailed Cobra and the slayer growled, baring his fangs at the shadowquip.

"Challenge accepted," the black and red haired mage said happily, plucking the cherry off the top of his float when it was brought and popping it in his mouth, eyeing Lucy, "Why did we need to meet if that's all you had to say?"

"No reason," Lucy smiled, "Just haven't seen you in a while."

"Been busy," Vander shrugged, taking a drink and smiling, "How's my niece?"

"Ganier is fine, Van, she's been slapping people with that 'glitter wand' you gave her though…" Lucy admitted with a faint sigh, "We keep taking it away but she keeps… getting new ones… or finding them…" she paused and glared at the man, who raised his hands looking supremely innocent, "I haven't a clue who would possibly slip through shadows just to give their niece more toys…."

Lucy put a hand to her face and laughed, "Of course. Must be sleep deprived to not have thought of that."

"Or just too oversexed to sleep…" Vander grinned, "Zen keeping you busy?" he waggled his eyebrows and the celestial threw the salt shaker at him, "Stop that! I swear if I catch you spying…"

Van laughed and held up his hands, "Nope, I won't. I know better. I'll be over for dinner tomorrow though, if that's okay? I need actual quality time with Ganier and I may be going on another long job soon."

"You sure?" Lucy blinked, "You just got back… that's… why?"

"Just have to, Luce," Vander shrugged, "Don't think too much on it, I like to work."

The celestial mage nodded, "Okay…"

Her com buzzed, the woman blinking at it a moment as she smiled softly at the photo of Ganier playing on the jungle gym that Zen sent to her and shook her head, "The kiddo is up, I should go. See you tomorrow after the glitter fest?" she smirked.

Vander laughed, "Yup, just after that," he said, eyes trailing toward a still-growling Cobra as she stood and moved toward him.

"Fuck that guy," Cobra glowered as Lucy came to hug him, the man going stiff like… a toddler being hugged by his mother in front of his friends and the celestial mage snorted, "He'd like that, Coby."

She headed out, watching as Vander slunk toward the other and Cobra hissed.

Lucy ignored them as she slipped out and shook her head, they could both take care of themselves and Vander wouldn't pressure anyone into something and Cobra wasn't the type to _be _pressured into things so she wasn't worried in the least bit as she skipped along the streets of Palerno.

She waited until she was gone several blocks before she called Gemini out again, having closed his gate about the middle of her lunch with Vander and the spirit grinned as it morphed into shadowquip, "Can I help you?"

"Yeah… before you go act like a clumsy buffoon and have ZERO game as you talk to people in town today… what's the most embarrassing thing you've ever done?" Lucy asked Gemi-Vander.

The spirit paused for a moment, seeming to think before 'Vander' blinked, "Mistress… there are things you should know about my job… and I believe you'd like to get Xally's boyfriend away from her…"

Lucy blinked, nodding slowly, sending Gemini away and communicating with them mentally, getting information that had her… just horrified, though she hid those emotions as she walked out of the quiet alley and toward her home, pulling out her com lacrima.

Lucy to Arman, Farron, Kaleb, Zen: We need to talk… we're going to get Vander freed from the Steel Council if I have to do it myself.


End file.
